France and Germany with their Elysee project in 1963 is an example. The two countries  shared a fund and invited French and German artists to perform in another country.

In 2009, two famous German and French choreographers, Raphael Hillebrand and Sébastien Ramirez, came to Vietnam at the invitation of the Goethe Institute Hanoi and the French Cultural Center L'Espace to stage a dance. 

The best dancers of the Big Toe dance group were selected and they had to undergo a rigorous training process to prepare for the dance before the official performance in February 2011.

In September 2023, “Princess Anio’ opera, featuring the love story between a Vietnamese Princess and Japanese merchant created by a crew of Vietnamese and Japanese choreographers, was staged.

The opera conveyed a message about the deep connection between the two countries. 

“2023 is the year of cultural diplomacy activity because it celebrates the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and a lot of countries after the 1973 Paris Agreement,” Thanh commented.

“However, I believe that cultural activities should be organized not only on the occasions of celebrations. It is necessary to do something at a higher level. There should be  cooperation among the artists of two or many countries to upgrade cultural diplomacy to a new high,” he added.

In Vietnam, Dang Thi Ngoc Han is not only known as Miss Vietnam 2010, but also as an ao dai designer. 

“The quintessence of the world’s culture converges in Vietnamese ao dai” is the slogan for her designs. Han has many ao dai collections inspired by the cultures of many countries where she has visited.

“I think that ao dai in particular and fashion in general are a soft cultural bridge which helps international friends have deeper understanding about Vietnamese culture,” Han said.

Han said she receives special orders to design long dresses for heads of states and their wives when they pay a visit to Vietnam, and for ambassadors and diplomatic officers who work in Vietnam.

To implement orders, she needs time to learn about the cultures of the countries where the VIPs are from.

Han noted that South Korea and Japan have been successful in popularizing their cultures. Travelers to Kyoto and Osaka, for example, can easily rent traditional costumes and visit famous monuments.

She believes that Vietnam’s traditional ao dai can help introducie Vietnamese fashion and culture to the world. To do this, the state needs to support ao dai designers by providing beautiful sites in Hanoi, Hoi An ancient town and mausoleums in Hue City. 

This will allow designers to introduce their collections of ao dai to tourists, an effective way to popularize Vietnamese culture at a very reasonable cost.

Visitors to the former royal city of Hue like to take pictures of themselves in ancient costumes, but most of them are Vietnamese travelers. It is difficult for foreign visitors to access the service because there is no detailed information. Tourists have the habit of using tourism apps like K-look, so Vietnam can work with these apps to help tourists rent traditional Vietnamese costumes.

In October, the Vietnam - Japan Festival Symphony Orchestra with artists selected from orchestras of both countries participated in a series of concerts on six stages in six major cities in Japan.

Conductor Dong Quang Vinh said many people contacted him after the event, saying that they wanted to come to Vietnam to watch performances of Vietnamese artists and to perform in Vietnam.

My Anh - Son Ha