Hanoi (VNA) – Cities around the world host photo competitions such as Photo Hanoi'23 to create a driving force for the development of culture and art, on the path to🐟 becoming a prominent international destination.

Within more than a month, "Biennale" (biennial international photography festival) Photo Hanoi'23 has recorded impressive numbers: Over 200 articles and reports have been published, more than 170,000 visitors, social networks posts attracted over 5 million views and over 5,100 posts with the hashtag PhotoHanoi. French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery revealed the impressive figures at the closing ceremony of Photo Hanoi'23 on June 3. The Ambassador affirmed that the event contributes to professionalizing the entire creative ecosystem and promoting the economic development of the capital city. When participating in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, Hanoi has the goal of clearly forging a rightful place for the cultural and creative industries. The focus is to make culture a tool for economic and tourism development and international exchange. “We may not have fully assessed the effect of this event on Hanoi. However, it can be seen that many cities around the world have seized the opportunity to hold activities like this to create the impetus for the development of culture and the arts, to become prominent international destinations," the Ambassador noted.   Reviewing the event organization, the ambassador said that the active participation of international partners in combination with domestic actors showed that Photo Hanoi'23 was on the right track. Arts and culture events like this need the participation of government agencies to mobilize resources to facilitate the event. The ambassador also called for the long-term companionship of domestic and international partners for the event, both from a financial and professional perspective. Ambassador Nicolas Warnery said there should be a mechanism to support and motivate creative actors such as artists, gallery owners, exhibition spaces, researchers, curators and art critics since they are the ones who really hold the key to Photo Hanoi'23 success. “Creative people will bring prestige to the event, creating indispensable links with the international community. We need to give them a central position in the event organization, motivating and supporting them,” said the Ambassador. Within the framework of Photo Hanoi'23, 22 exhibitions and nearly 20 side events were held in seven districts of Hanoi, attracting about 170,000 visitors to the exhibition and 10,000 people attending seminars face-to-face and online. Do Dinh Hong, Director of Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports said the city is committed and determined to successfully implement cultural initiatives and projects within the framework of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network. This will be accomplished through a variety of cultural and artistic activities, thereby actively contributing to promoting international cooperation and cultural integration between the capital city on a bilateral and multilateral basis with other countries and international organizations in the region and the world./.