The Weaving Network of Central Vietnam participated in TENUN Fashion Week

“TENUN Fashion Week” was conducted online for 3 days from October 15. It was a large-scale event in which 44 traditional weaving groups mainly from ASEAN countries participated. From Vietnam, 6 ethnic minorities in the Weaving Network of Central Vietnam attended the event.

There are hundreds of weaving groups in Vietnam and other Southeast Asia countries. Despite the fact that the traditional weaving is the traditional culture of many communities and the weaving products are also the works of art which are loved throughout the ages, the number of weavers is decreasing in the process of modernization. With this background, TENUN Fashion Week was conducted by Maybank Foundation of Malaysia in collaboration with the ASEAN Handicraft Promotion and Development Association (AHPADA) and Tanoti, a Malaysian social enterprise in order to reaffirm the importance of weaving and promote them in the Southeast Asia area.

On the first day of the event, the video introducing weaving products of six ethnic minorities of the Weaving Network of Central Vietnam was shown. Moreover, Ms. Oanh, a staff of FIDR Vietnam Office, appeared in the panel discussion and introduced the support activities of FIDR for the promotion of traditional weaving and community development project.

It is expected that traditional weaving getting attention through fashion will lead to the prosperity of weaving communities and the preservation of their rich cultural heritages.

The story behind the performance

We delivered our “Handmade weaving pass holder” to the Labor Union of Yamazaki Baking Co.,Ltd Koga branch.

For the last 20 years, FIDR has been supporting ethnic minority groups in central Vietnam in producing traditional weaving products as well as increasing their income by promoting selling products. This traditional weaving was registered as intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of Vietnam in 2014, and a Traditional Weaving Network of Central Vietnam was established in 2019. These weaving products were also introduced at the international fashion show and the international conference on ICH conducted by UNESCO this year.

This year, the weaving group received an order of 900 weaving pass holders from the Labor Union of Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd Koga Branch. The Koga branch which has been supporting FIDR for a long time celebrated its 50th anniversary, and Labor Union wanted to present the weaving pass holders to their workers as mementoes for their contribution.

While lockdown was enforced throughout the country by the impact of COVID-19, and due to the first time of making these products, the weaving group tried to make the pass holders carefully one by one. They combined the color, designed the pocket to make it easy to use, put on the strap, etc to make the pass holders beautiful. Finally, they could provide the most beautiful products to the customers in Japan.

Mr Kitajima, Director of Koga branch shared “When I hold a pass holder in my hand, I felt that it is totally different with the ready-made products and I feel the passion of the people who made it. Each one has different design and color, so I felt special and unique. It’s really suitable for the era of diversity. I will use it carefully as a present of the traditional culture of Vietnam.”

FIDR presented at the 2021 Southeast Asian Collaborative Meeting on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage

The 2021 Southeast Asian Collaborative Meeting on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage was conducted on August 30 and 31 by the joint organization between International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP) and the National Heritage Board of Singapore. Ms. Hoa, staff of FIDR Vietnam office, participated as a representative of Vietnam. In the symposium, representatives of each country, mainly in Asia, presented the roles of youths in safeguarding and inherit Intangible Cultural Heritage for the next generation with their activities as examples.

Using the examples from the Catu Traditional Handicraft Assistance Project and Catu Ethnic Minority Community Based Tourism Project, which FIDR has engaged with Catu people in central Vietnam in more than 20 years, Ms. Hoa presented the roles of youth in the inheritance of traditional culture and how to approach and involve them in the activities. She also talked about the role of each generation, including youth, middle level, and senior. At the same time, she suggested some methods, such as visualization of intangible heritages, clarification of the career paths, and formation of Role models in the community in order to involve youth in the activities.

After her presentation, Ms. Hoa received a question from a participant, that gHow can we reduce generation crisis between young and senior generations in preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage?h She responded that it is essential to provide an opportunity for youth and senior to discuss carefully and sharing each other, especially about the core value that needs to be safeguarded and inherited as culture changes with time.

The video on the symposium is available on Youtube. The presentation of Ms. Hoa starts at 1:04:35.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZQkeXxVpmU&t=4750s

Strengths in Nurturing Local Industries Discovered

Traditional basket-making techniques in Tien Phuoc District

In Quang Nam province, economic development in western mountainous areas is left behind compared to its costal lowlands where continuing economic growth centered on the service industry has been seen. Nineteen ethnic minorities inhabit in the western areas, and most of them sustain their living from small farming. Since FIDR has shown great achievements in gProject for Rural Development by Local Initiative of the Ethnic Minority Communities in Nam Giang Districth, Quang Nam province has requested to implement a project to improve living standard of all ethnic minorities in nine mountainous districts struggling with a high poverty rate.

In response to the request from Quang Nam province, FIDR conducted a survey, which revealed that abundant nature and traditional culture of the ethnic minorities became a significant advantage for creating distinctive industries in the region. Based on the results of the survey, we identified potentials of local products development, strategies of value chain building, and measures of strengthening cooperation among areas. In collaboration with local stakeholders, FIDR developed a plan of the new project. In December, FIDR proposed this project and adopted for JICA Partnership Program. The project team is on the process of preparing for the implementation of the project activities which is scheduled to launch in this fiscal year.