The Project to Share and Preserve Vietnamese Heritage, funded by the Solidarity Fund for Innovative Projects (FSPI) of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was launched two years ago. The project addresses the needs of numerous Vietnamese partners and strengthens cooperation with French museums. It involves 20 cultural institutions in Vietnam and four universities in Ho Chi Minh City.
The FSPI project develops training programs in heritage preservation in Vietnam and pursues three pilot projects in Ninh Binh, Quang Nam, and Ho Chi Minh City. Various training courses and field trips have fostered connections and experience sharing between Vietnamese museum staff and their French counterparts. The three pilot projects have enabled Vietnamese partners to improve their practices and apply them directly to their own initiatives.
In Ninh Binh province, the project helped to renovate the Visitor Center of Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam's first national park.
Mr. Do Hong Hai, Deputy Director of the park’s Center for Environmental Services and Education, said: "After two years of close coordination, the Cuc Phuong Visitor Center has been completed and is now serving the public. With modern sound and lighting effects, combined with indigenous cultural elements and site information, it conveys a humanistic message. This center has become a top choice for nature enthusiasts and a trusted destination for environmentally responsible tourists. Since early this year more than 77,000 visitors have come to study, experience, and stay at Cuc Phuong National Park."
In Quang Nam province, the project supports the Center for Environmental Education and Communication of the Cu Lao Cham Marine Protected Area.
In Ho Chi Minh City, the project helped design and produce an audio content communication tool called the Storytelling Box.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Tham, Director of the Southern Women's Museum, said: "Museums in Ho Chi Minh City and the Southern Women's Museum have learned a lot from this project, even in small aspects of preserving artifacts. For instance, when displaying ao dai fabric, we learned how to control the room temperature specifically for the fabric, which is entirely different from the requirements for metal or wood."
By the end of this year the FSPI project will translate and publish "Museology," a handbook created by French museum experts as a reference for museum studies.