Việt Nam working with Google to boost culture and promote tourism

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will promote culture and tourism on Google platforms, said the deputy-minister Hoàng Đạo Cương.

During a recent meeting with Sapna Chadha, vice president, Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier, Google Asia Pacific at Google in Hà Nội, Cương said they highly appreciate the company's interest in the Asia-Pacific region, including Việt Nam.

That interest has been demonstrated in a series of digital infrastructure investment projects, start-up and small businesses support, along with enhancing cybersecurity.

At the meeting, Chadha told the minister a platform, Vibrant Vietnam was launched officially on July 10 on the Google Arts & Culture (GAC) site at https://artsandculture.google.com/project/vibrant-vietnam-people-places-nature.

Vibrant Vietnam focuses on introducing the community of 54 ethnic groups along with the diverse natural features stretching from the north to the south of the country, thereby portraying the deep connection between human life with nature and highlight the unique and cherished cultural features of Việt Nam.

With the successful launch of the Vibrant Vietnam project, Chadha hopes that the Việt Nam ministry and Google cooperate in researching to sign an agreement on storing content on digital platforms to introduce Việt Nam's world heritages on GAC.

The promotion of Việt Nam's world heritage sites on Google platforms will contribute to affirming Việt Nam's efforts in preserving and promoting the values ​​of heritage, strengthening popularising images and destinations in Việt Nam to the world, Chadha added.

Deputy-Minister Cương said that the two sides will sign an agreement soon to introduce UNESCO recorgnised - Hạ Long Bay and Cát Bà Archipelago and Tràng An Landscape Complex on GAC.

The International Cooperation Department will be in charge of preparing for the agreement signing.

"This cooperation will be an important boost for museums and relic sites to have agreements and in-depth cooperation with Google," said Cương.

"Việt Nam is building a digital data store about the country's cultural heritage and it is ready to share information and coordinate with Google to continue to effectively promote the values ​​of Việt Nam's cultural heritage."

The Google representative also said that Google is interested in amending the Advertising Law, including cyberspace advertising in Việt Nam.

Google's advertising services are always innovative encouraging growth while still ensuring a clean advertising environment and protection for users, according to Chadha.

Google commits to complying with all Vietnamese advertising laws and is ready to coordinate to handle Việt Nam's requests.

After the meeting, the two sides agreed that Google will continue paying attention and supporting programmes and projects to promote tourism, preserve Việt Nam's traditional culture, helping Việt Nam to organise short-term courses on digital content, digital transformation and multimedia for the culture, sports and tourism industries.