Vietnam cultural heritage digitisation

In late July 2026 the Vietnam Youth Union reported the completion of its “Câu chuyện thời hoa lửa” project, which digitised more than 712,000 personal testimonies from over 112,000 witnesses of the revolutionary era. The initiative, launched in July 2025 to commemorate Vietnam’s Veterans Day, culminated in a conference in Nghe An province that highlighted the role of a digital archive in youth education and patriotic learning.

A few days later, Vietnamese cultural officials expanded the focus to the nation’s broader folk heritage. Authorities outlined plans to digitise oral literature, customs, festivals and traditional arts, noting potential benefits for tourism, creative industries and long‑term preservation. Experts warned of obstacles such as the oral nature of the material, dispersed rural sources, limited technical expertise, under‑funding and inadequate digital infrastructure. Calls were made for a national heritage database, clearer copyright rules, and cross‑disciplinary training to ensure authenticity while moving cultural data online.