The signing ceremony of the project entitled “Empowering youth and women to foster the connection and common good at Creative Cities and World Cultural Heritage recognized by UNESCO in Vietnam” took place in France on November 5.

The cooperation was signed by Director of the Bureau of Strategic Planning of UNESCO in Jean-Yves Le Saux and Chairwoman and CEO of the SOVICO Group Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao.

The signing ceremony of the project takes place in France on November 5. Photo: UNESCO Vietnam

“UNESCO and SOVICO aim to support Vietnam in building Creative Cities while developing sustainable tourism in local communities in the North Central Heritage Corridor,” UNESCO -Vietnam office informed.

This project will act as a catalyst linking disjointed local initiatives while identifying meaningful institutional partnerships and financing opportunities for local youth and women.

As a result, it will generate a strong ecosystem in cultural, creative, and tourism industries. Good practices of the project will serve as examples in local people empowerment and sustainable tourism to inspire replication. 

According to the experts, this is especially significant during the country’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which negatively affected the livelihoods of people working in the cultural and tourism industries.

The Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay expressed her delight that a private corporation from Vietnam joined UNESCO’s journey to develop creative cities and sustainable tourism in the nation.

“We believe that, in order to achieve sustainable development, we need all stakeholders, including the private sector, governments, development organizations and local communities, to join hands,” she said.

“This never has been so relevant and needed at this particular time of building resilience in societies after the global pandemic and in the face of so many other challenges,” she added.

SOVICO is a Vietnamese private corporation which is a pioneer in partnering with the United Nations to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Earlier, in 2020, SOVICO, UNESCO, UNIDO and UN-Habitat jointly built up the “Ha Noi Rethink” project to support the city in becoming a creative capital of Southeast Asia.