(Photo: ictvietnam.vn)

Vietnam is entering a new phase of development with a strong aspiration to elevate its global standing. On this journey, culture is an essential force for national development and a bridge between Vietnam and foreign partners that supports extensive international integration and cooperation.

Digital infrastructure: a foundation for cultural connectivity

Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son, Standing Member of the National Assembly’s Committee on Culture and Education, says digital transformation is a tool for preserving culture and a key to expanding its reach. He says hundred-year-old brocade patterns can now be recreated in virtual reality. Cheo melodies and royal court music can go viral with a single click. Cultural heritages, no longer confined by geography, resonate across borders, reaching millions of people around the world without any boundaries.

Hue Monuments Conservation Center applies technology to serve visitors at relic sites. (Photo: Le Hieu/VOV)

Traditional festivals, once limited to specific localities, can now be recreated using 3D technology or virtual reality to deliver an immersive experience to an audience anywhere in the world. Digital transformation in the production and dissemination of cultural content is not just a trend, but an inevitable step in integrating Vietnamese culture with the global cultural landscape.

Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son (Photo: Ha Phuong/VOV)

Mr. Son said: “Today, the world has become more interconnected thanks to technology. Culture is no longer a domestic affair, it has become a common language, a new form of diplomacy, and an important soft power in international relations and sustainable development. The strategy of internationalizing Vietnamese culture and localizing global culture reflects an inclusive, forward-thinking cultural vision.”

Resolution 57 highlights the need to use digital transformation to boost culture and entertainment industries, develop high-quality digital cultural products, and build a comprehensive database of cultural heritages.

Speaking on January 13 in Hanoi at the National Conference on disseminating Resolution 57, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said: “We must promote digital transformation to develop our culture and entertainment industries, create high-quality digital cultural products, and build a cultural heritage database. This is how we can internationalize Vietnam’s cultural identity and integrate the finest aspects of world culture into our own.”

Dr. Bui Hoai Son said: “Internationalizing culture is more than just promoting a national image. It’s about repositioning a country on the global stage through the depth of its history, traditions, and identity. When a nation can speak to the world in the language of culture, rather than merely through economics or politics, it shows that the nation has grown in internal strength and stature.”

Adapting in diversity

On the other hand, Dr. Son noted that the use of digital technology also supports the process of Vietnamizing global cultural influences, a reflection of Vietnam’s openness to learning and integration.

Vietnam, with its thousands of years of cultural history, 54 ethnic groups, and rich heritage, now benefits from a younger generation who are dynamic, creative, and globally connected and who selectively absorb the best of world culture and apply technology to advance local development. This is helping Vietnam expand its cultural and intellectual horizons.

Internationalizing Vietnamese culture and localizing global culture will bring the world closer to Vietnam and project Vietnam more prominently onto the global stage. This process is driven by technology and digitalization, and Resolution 57 is a pivot for this transformation.