The 4th VietNam Design Week 2023 was inaugurated on September 26 in the Thai Hoc courtyard of the Temple of Literature, in the presence of Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Nguyen Van Phong.

Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Nguyen Van Phong attends the event. Photo: Hanoimoi Newspaper

Nguyen Van Phong encouraged the organizers, designers and models, adding that Hanoi has been a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network since 2019. Therefore, Vietnam Design Week 2023 should be held annually to promote travel and understanding of this important field, he stressed.

"The organizing committee should develop ideas based on the themes of Hanoi's thousand years of civilization, creative city and community engagement," he added.

Le Xuan Kieu, Director of the Center for Cultural and Scientific Activities of the Temple of Literature, mentioned that VietNam Design Week 2023 not only provides a venue for the exchange and recognition of outstanding Vietnamese designers in various fields but also plays a vital role in transforming the Temple of Literature into a creative space.

Vietnam Design Week is the largest national design event organized by the Vietnam Design Group, the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Art, the Copyright Office under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports to discover and honor outstanding Vietnamese products and designers.

It is necessary to build cultural narratives linked to the historical development of Hanoi in recent times, including promoting initiatives for developing the creative industrial design sector and building a creative city linked to cultural history and innovative design.

This year's event also features the "Designed by Vietnam" competition, the Design of the Year Award, the Design Fair Vietnam, exhibitions, seminars, and workshops, which are new activities compared to previous editions, to promote the development of the design industry within Vietnam's cultural and creative industries, while enhancing the value of Vietnamese innovative products in both domestic and international markets.

It also includes a competition with the theme "Embracing Constraints", launched at the end of April 2023 and received 150 entries. Thirty designs were selected for the final stage of the exhibition, including ten for public toilets for the nearby Hoan Kiem Lake.

Another activity is an exhibition called "Dot" featuring the top 20+10 designs from the competition, which is on display at Thai Hoc House.

The closing and award ceremonies of the event will be held on September 29 at the Temple of Literature.