LookAtVietnam – Vietnamese and Danish citizens are attending a workshop to find ways to fund arts and culture in Ha Noi.

Performance art: Artist Dao Anh Khanh and his performers dance surrounded by fire and high sounds which the Cultural Development and Exchange Fund supports.

Different models for funding are being discussed by policy makers, managers and researchers from Viet Nam and Denmark. They are expected to provide a reference for the Vietnamese to develop supportive policies and mechanisms.

Models from Europe and Denmark were presented by Danish expert Olaf Hansen, a managing consultant in culture, development and international co-operation.

He focused on the functions of the arts council and its relationship with government bodies.

Two Vietnamese speakers, Nguyen Ngoc Lam, a senior expert, and Nguyen Danh Nga, of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, shared insights into the role of civil society in funding arts and culture in Viet Nam and funding mechanisms.

Based on the presentations, two panels will be set up to discuss further issues, including relations between business and arts and forming a non-profit, independent art foundation.

“I believe this workshop is an excellent opportunity for cultural managers and arts practitioners to meet and exchange views,” Danish Ambassador Peter Lysholt Hansen said, “so that policymakers can understand the needs and wishes of organisations and individuals regarding financial policies and mechanism to further nourish arts and cultural development.”

The workshop is part of a five-year Danish project, Dialogue among Cultural Decision and Opinion Makers, funded by the Danish government.

The first workshop was organised in 2007 with the theme Cultural Identity and Diversity when a Danish specialist was invited to present a research paper entitled Cultural Policy and Development Trends.

Denmark’s support of cultural development in Viet Nam is based on the Danish “Strategy for Development Co-operation with Viet Nam 2006-2010″.

The strategy is to increase creativity, access, participation and diversity.

The strategy was designed in accordance with Danish Aid Management Guidelines, adopting a sector programme approach. The programme consists of seven components of which one is an extension of ongoing support.

The other six include arts education in primary school, children’s literature, arts management, Viet Nam-Denmark cultural development and exchange fund, regional and ethnic culture fund and support to contemporary arts.

Support is provided at several levels and within a variety of cultural areas to gain the largest impact. The dialogue among cultural managers and opinion makers is supported to expand the framework of cultural and artistic development.

Education in arts in primary school will be developed, based on the Danish models but taking the starting point of Viet Nam’s cultural heritage and traditions.

Vietnamese children’s literature will be expanded with the quality of text and illustrations improved. The capacity of arts and culture management will be enhanced and will involve the private sector.

The support of contemporary art projects will enable more artistic expression and stimulate reflection, debate and development of artistic identity. The funds will support cultural exchanges between Denmark and Viet Nam and ethnic and regional development of arts and culture in Viet Nam.

Throughout the programme period, focus will be on children, ethnic groups and development of a cultural society in Viet Nam.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News