Professor Julia Gaimster, Dean of RMIT School of Communication & Design, said: “We have seen massive global shifts created by the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the ways in which people work, how they connect and communicate, and their priorities for the future.”
“With ‘change’ there always comes a ‘challenge’ – how to ensure equity of opportunity, how to harness technology for the greater good, how to minimise the impact of our activities on the planet we call home.
“Our aim is to make the festival sustainable for the future, to continue to create impact and support for the creative industries in Vietnam, and to provide opportunities for a wider audience to engage with and understand the value of creativity in all aspects of our lives,” she added.
In anticipation of the main program in November, VFCD this year has opened up an unprecedented opportunity for cross-disciplinary collaboration with the Creativity Challenge Playground.
Currently underway, this challenge forms pairs between two individuals, groups, organisations or businesses operating in at least two different creative fields. The five finalist pairs were announced at the VFCD launch event on 16 August 2022.
Each pair will receive funding of VND50 million (approximately USD2,100) and expert support from the organisers to generate ideas and produce prototypes of cultural and creative products or services. These prototypes will be showcased during the festival weeks in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in November.
Associate Professor Dr Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Institute of Cultural and Arts Studies (VICAS) said:
“The Creative Challenge Playground is essentially a model that promotes interdisciplinary connectivity in creative practice in order to form ideas that embody ‘change for sustainable development’ – the theme of the challenge.
“We expect to create a playground to connect, challenge and get Vietnamese talent to go beyond their creative capacity. They can level up their knowledge and skills relating to culture, arts and creativity, while building their capacity for cross-disciplinary project execution and management.”
VFCD 2022 is calling on the creative and cultural communities in Vietnam to submit proposals for events and activities to be featured in the festival this year. Individuals, groups, organisations and enterprises are welcomed to propose their ideas by 15 September 2022 via the registration form.
