Hoi An Creativity Week 2026 kicks off
DNO - The opening ceremony of the Hoi An Creativity Week 2026, themed “A Journey to Touch Heritage, Touch Creativity”, took place at the Hoai River Square on Friday evening.
The Hoi An Creative Week 2026 is directed by the Da Nang People’s Committee and organized by the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with the UNESCO Office in Ha Noi, UN-Habitat Vietnam, relevant agencies, and creative communities within and outside Hoi An’s heritage area.
The 6-day event features nearly 20 activities presented in various formats, including talks, training sessions, exhibitions, artistic performances, product showcases, technology experiences and community activities.
Each group of activities offers a different creative approach to heritage as well as creates more opportunities for artisans, businesses, young people, experts and the public to meet, learn and participate directly in Hoi An’s creative life.
The Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to more than 50 traditional crafts and numerous forms of folk art practiced within a distinctive structure known as “villages within the town, towns within villages”.
Here, craftsmanship, community memories and creativity have been accumulated and passed down through generations.
This heritage foundation was also a key reason why Hoi An selected crafts and folk arts as its creative field when joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
In her opening remarks, Director of the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Truong Thi Hong Hanh emphasized that through the series of activities at the Hoi An Creative Week 2026 from August 28 to September 2, the organizers aimed to create meaningful “touchpoints” connecting with heritage, emotions and the creative energy of the community.
More importantly, through the event, the city hoped to gradually establish the Hoi An Creative Week as a distinctive cultural-tourism product that would create additional space for the creative community and open up new economic opportunities from traditional crafts and folk arts.
The initiative was also expected to contribute to fulfilling Hoi An’s commitments as a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, she added.