11.2.6. Recording and Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage
In 2025, the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) continued to research, document, reinterpret and showcase traditional cultural values through projects integrating art, digital technology, education and design. Activities focused on local memories and narratives, the cultural identities of Vietnam’s ethnic groups, folk arts and cultural practices passed down across generations.
Highlights included The Legend Map: Vietnam workshop at ArtTech Fusion 2025, which connected personal memories with locations in Ho Chi Minh City through AI and AR; the Color of Culture exhibition, which introduced the cultural identities of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups through interactive artworks; and Miracai – A Journey Through Stories and Streams, a project in the International Design Competition for the Cai River Heritage Route in Khanh Hoa, which proposed approaches to preserving, promoting and digitizing local cultural heritage.
Alongside art and technology projects, UEH organized activities that transmitted, recreated and provided hands-on experiences of folk culture, notably the School of Management’s Nguon Xanh Sac Viet programme, UEH Youth Festival 2025 – Hoa Sac, and The Harmony of Heritage. These initiatives helped sustain traditional knowledge, arts and cultural practices in contemporary life.
Through its projects and activities in 2025, UEH promoted the identification, presentation and appreciation of intangible cultural heritage while gradually expanding the use of technology to preserve and share cultural values with the wider community.
1. Approach to Recording and Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage
In 2025, UEH undertook activities to explore, document, recreate and promote cultural heritage in two principal areas.
Local and regional heritage: UEH collaborated with partners on initiatives related to the memories, stories, cultural spaces and identities of specific localities. The Legend Map: Vietnam workshop connected personal memories with locations in Ho Chi Minh City using AI and AR. In Khanh Hoa, the Miracai design project, part of the International Design Competition for the Cai River Heritage Route, proposed measures to preserve and digitize cultural values connected with local landscapes, community memories and sustainable urban development.
National cultural heritage: UEH developed artworks and experiential activities that presented and recreated aspects of Vietnamese traditional culture. Notably, the Color of Culture exhibition at ArtTech Fusion 2025 used augmented reality to depict the cultural diversity of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups. Meanwhile, Nguon Xanh Sac Viet, Hoa Sac and The Harmony of Heritage communicated folk cultural values through traditional handicrafts, games and artistic performances.
Regarding the heritage of displaced communities, UEH has further opportunities to develop dedicated research and documentation projects. International cultural exchanges in 2025 enabled student groups to share the traditions and identities of their home countries, but they were not identified as projects to document or preserve the heritage of displaced communities.
Activities involved UEH academic units and students together with domestic and international partners, combining research, design, interactive art and experiential education. Preserving and publicly sharing tangible cultural outputs remains an important direction so these results can continue to be accessed and passed on to communities.
2. Notable Projects and Outputs in 2025
2.1. The Legend Map: Vietnam – Connecting Local Memories with Digital Technology
As part of ArtTech Fusion 2025, UEH collaborated with Art Center Nabi (South Korea) to organize The Legend Map: Vietnam workshop in Ho Chi Minh City. The activity built on The Legend Map art-and-technology project, initiated by Art Center Nabi in 2023 and previously implemented with communities in Seoul (South Korea) and Ankara (Türkiye).
The workshop explored connections among personal memories, everyday stories and familiar places through artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR). Rather than simply showcasing existing cultural images, it brought participants’ memories and narratives into the artistic co-creation process, offering a new approach to identifying and expressing cultural values associated with urban spaces.
The 2025 workshop in Ho Chi Minh City demonstrated UEH’s participation in an international project connecting memory, place and technology. It provided a foundation for developing digital approaches to recording and representing local narratives.
Source: UEH Portal – ArtTech Fusion 2025 (ATF25): Co-creating for a Sustainable Future.
https://www.ueh.edu.vn/khoa-hoc/arttech-fusion-2025-atf25-dong-sang-tao-vi-tuong-lai-ben-vung-74903
Supporting source: UEH ArtTech Hub – ArtTech Fusion 2025.
https://ath.ueh.edu.vn/home/arttech-fusion-2025/
2.2. Color of Culture – Representing the Cultural Identities of Vietnam’s 54 Ethnic Groups through AR
At ArtTech Fusion 2025, students from UEH’s School of Media Design presented the Color of Culture exhibition, using augmented reality (AR) to represent and introduce the cultural diversity of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups.
The project combined visual art, interactive design and cultural content, enabling visitors to experience images and expressions of ethnic identity through digital media. Presenting traditional cultural elements using AR offered another means of representing and transmitting heritage through contemporary technology, improving access for students and visitors.
Unlike a one-off performance, Color of Culture produced interactive artworks that were exhibited and experienced by visitors at ArtTech Fusion 2025. This demonstrated UEH’s contribution to using creative technology to present and promote national cultural values.
Source 1: UEH Portal – 13 Unique Exhibitions at ArtTech Fusion 2025: A Journey of Visual Art and Interactive Experiences.
https://www.ueh.edu.vn/cuoc-song-ueh/tin-tuc/13-trien-lam-doc-dao-tai-arttech-fusion-2025-%E2%80%93-hanh-trinh-cua-thi-giac-va-trai-nghiem-tuong-tac-74922
Source 2: UEH Portal – ArtTech Fusion 2025 (ATF25): Co-creating for a Sustainable Future.
https://www.ueh.edu.vn/khoa-hoc/arttech-fusion-2025-atf25-dong-sang-tao-vi-tuong-lai-ben-vung-74903
2.3. Miracai – A Journey Through Stories and Streams: A Proposal to Preserve and Promote Cultural Heritage along the Cai River, Khanh Hoa
In 2025, UEH and the Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee jointly organized the fourth International Design Competition, themed around sustainable economic and cultural development through the integration of urban landscapes along the Cai River. The competition announced five outstanding design proposals aimed at landscape restoration, preserving cultural memories and developing community spaces along the river.
Among these, UEH’s Miracai – A Journey Through Stories and Streams project proposed treating the Cai River as a heritage corridor connecting tangible and intangible cultural values. The design focused on heritage preservation, promotion and digitization, and explored links among cultural venues such as folk theatres, water puppetry stages, traditional craft villages and community gathering places.
The project resulted in a design proposal published in 2025, demonstrating UEH’s role in researching and proposing approaches to preserving and promoting local cultural values. It established a basis for further research, documentation and heritage conservation in the future.
Source: UEH Portal – Fourth International Design Competition: Cai River Heritage Route, Khanh Hoa Province – Five Outstanding Design Projects Reaffirm the Cai River’s Future Role, 20 October 2025.
https://www.ueh.edu.vn/ueh-mekong/cuoc-song-ueh-mekong/cuoc-thi-thiet-ke-quoc-te-lan-4-cung-duong-di-san-ven-song-cai-tinh-khanh-hoa-5-du-an-thiet-ke-xuat-sac-khang-dinh-lai-vai-tro-cua-song-cai-trong-tuong-lai-75066
2.3. Miracai – A Journey Through Stories and Streams: A Proposal to Preserve and Promote Cultural Heritage along the Cai River, Khanh Hoa
In 2025, UEH and the Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee jointly organized the fourth International Design Competition, themed around sustainable economic and cultural development through the integration of urban landscapes along the Cai River. The competition announced five outstanding design proposals aimed at landscape restoration, preserving cultural memories and developing community spaces along the river.
Among these, UEH’s Miracai – A Journey Through Stories and Streams project proposed treating the Cai River as a heritage corridor connecting tangible and intangible cultural values. The design focused on heritage preservation, promotion and digitization, and explored links among cultural venues such as folk theatres, water puppetry stages, traditional craft villages and community gathering places.
The project resulted in a design proposal published in 2025, demonstrating UEH’s role in researching and proposing approaches to preserving and promoting local cultural values. It established a basis for further research, documentation and heritage conservation in the future.
Source: UEH Portal – Fourth International Design Competition: Cai River Heritage Route, Khanh Hoa Province – Five Outstanding Design Projects Reaffirm the Cai River’s Future Role, 20 October 2025.
https://www.ueh.edu.vn/ueh-mekong/cuoc-song-ueh-mekong/cuoc-thi-thiet-ke-quoc-te-lan-4-cung-duong-di-san-ven-song-cai-tinh-khanh-hoa-5-du-an-thiet-ke-xuat-sac-khang-dinh-lai-vai-tro-cua-song-cai-trong-tuong-lai-75066
2.4. Nguon Xanh Sac Viet – Experiencing, Practising and Transmitting Folk Heritage Values
From 6 to 11 May 2025, the UEH School of Management Student Association organized the “Nguon Xanh Sac Viet” series to raise awareness of national cultural heritage preservation. According to the unit’s 2024–2025 academic-year activity report, the programme recorded 724 participations.
The programme comprised three main components. The “Hon Viet” outreach booth introduced traditional culture, customs, languages and ways of life through five interactive game stations. The “Hon Xanh” workshop gave students hands-on experience making to he, traditional Vietnamese dough figurines. The “Hon Nuoc” activity took students to the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History for historical and cultural learning and an experience of water puppetry.
By combining knowledge sharing, handicraft practice and folk-art experiences, the programme helped transmit elements of intangible cultural heritage to students and encouraged younger generations to recognize and continue traditional values.
Source: UEH 2024–2025 Academic-Year Activity Summary – Sheet “9. QT”, “Nguon Xanh Sac Viet” activity, 6–11 May 2025.
Activity documentation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CoYXW6C01Cg33BhgzFthaLdCk0f0F8Kh/view?usp=sharing
Activity communications: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BHB8JA8LS/
Activity communications: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DZPHdVNXP/
Activity communications: https://www.facebook.com/share/16XiftZM2r/
| PROGRAMME / PROJECT NAME | ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION | HERITAGE CATEGORY | PUBLISHED OUTPUTS | EVIDENCE LINK |
| 1. The Legend Map: Vietnam – ArtTech Fusion 2025 | At ArtTech Fusion 2025, UEH partnered with Art Center Nabi (South Korea) to hold a workshop connecting personal memories and everyday stories with places in Ho Chi Minh City using AI and AR. First launched in 2023, this international project had previously been conducted in Seoul and Ankara. The 2025 workshop provided a space for participants to explore and express place-based memories. | Local/regional heritage – a project focusing on urban memories and narratives. | Workshop delivered in 2025; UEH published an event summary and photographs. | Source: UEH Portal – ArtTech Fusion 2025: Co-creating for a Sustainable Future. https://www.ueh.edu.vn/khoa-hoc/arttech-fusion-2025-atf25-dong-sang-tao-vi-tuong-lai-ben-vung-74903 |
| 2. Color of Culture – ArtTech Fusion 2025 | UEH students developed interactive AR artworks introducing the cultural diversity of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups. The exhibition combined media design, technology and traditional cultural imagery, presenting ethnic identities through digital experiences and widening public access to heritage. | National cultural heritage – digital artworks representing and presenting cultural traditions. | AR artworks were exhibited at ArtTech Fusion 2025, with photographs of the exhibits and visitor experiences. |
Source: UEH Portal – 13 Unique Exhibitions at ArtTech Fusion 2025. https://ueh.edu.vn/college/phvl-so/vi/13-trien-lam-doc-dao-tai-arttech-fusion-2025-%E2%80%93-hanh-trinh-cua-thi-giac-va-trai-nghiem-tuong-tac-74922 |
| 3. International Design Competition for the Cai River Heritage Route – Khanh Hoa 2025 (Miracai) | UEH co-organized a design competition focusing on the preservation and promotion of cultural values along the Cai River in Khanh Hoa. The Miracai – A Journey Through Stories and Streams proposal connected local memories, community culture, traditional craft spaces and folk arts with landscape design, cultural venues and heritage digitization. | Local/regional heritage – research and proposed conservation measures. Not a completed intangible heritage archiving project. | Five design proposals were published; the Miracai proposal, images and heritage-preservation concepts were documented.  |
Source: UEH Portal – Fourth International Design Competition: Cai River Heritage Route, Khanh Hoa Province. https://ueh.edu.vn/ueh-mekong/cuoc-song-ueh-mekong/cuoc-thi-thiet-ke-quoc-te-lan-4-cung-duong-di-san-ven-song-cai-tinh-khanh-hoa-5-du-an-thiet-ke-xuat-sac-khang-dinh-lai-vai-tro-cua-song-cai-trong-tuong-lai-75066 |
| 4. Ngoc Ngach AR Exhibition – ArtTech Fusion 2025 | An interactive art exhibition exploring local culture, memories and aspects of everyday Vietnamese life through AR. The artworks combined visual artistic expression with digital experiences, providing creative ways to engage with cultural images and values rooted in community life. | Local/regional heritage – artistic representations of local memories and culture; supporting evidence. | The exhibition and its AR artworks were presented, with photographs of displays and visitor experiences.  |
Source: UEH Portal – 13 Unique Exhibitions at ArtTech Fusion 2025. https://ueh.edu.vn/college/phvl-so/vi/13-trien-lam-doc-dao-tai-arttech-fusion-2025-%E2%80%93-hanh-trinh-cua-thi-giac-va-trai-nghiem-tuong-tac-74922 |
| 5. Nguon Xanh Sac Viet – UEH School of Management 2025 | From 6 to 11 May 2025, the School of Management’s student organizations held activities raising awareness of national cultural heritage preservation. “Hon Viet” explored culture through five interactive stations; “Hon Xanh” offered hands-on to he figurine making; and “Hon Nuoc” explored history, culture and water puppetry. The unit reported 724 participations. | National cultural heritage – transmission, practice and experience of folk knowledge and arts; supporting evidence. | A programme delivered in 2025, supported by a public summary, activity photographs and participation figures in the unit report.
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Source 1: UEH Green Campus – Awareness-Raising Activity Series on Cultural Heritage Preservation: Nguon Xanh Sac Viet, 12 May 2025. https://gogreen.ueh.edu.vn/su-kien/chuoi-hoat-dong-tuyen-truyen-nang-cao-nhan-thuc-ve-bao-ton-di-san-van-hoa-voi-chu-de-nguon-xanh-sac-viet. Source 2: UEH 2024–2025 Activity Summary Report, sheet 9. QT. |
| 6. UEH Youth Festival 2025 – Hoa Sac | On 24 March 2025, UEH held the Hoa Sac arts programme, presenting traditional cultural values through the Tam Cam folktale, lullabies, the o an quan folk game, bamboo dancing, traditional musical instruments and performances combining heritage with contemporary creativity. The programme encouraged young people to take an interest in national culture. | National cultural heritage – re-enactment, dissemination and practice of heritage; supporting evidence. | A live performance, photographs, media materials and an event summary published in 2025.   |
Source: UEH Portal – UEH Youth Festival 2025 – Hoa Sac: UEH Youth Pioneering the Preservation and Promotion of National Cultural Values. https://ueh.edu.vn/cuoc-song-ueh/tin-tuc/ueh-youth-festival-2025-hoa-sac-tuoi-tre-ueh-tien-phong-giu-gin-va-phat-huy-cac-gia-tri-van-hoa-dan-toc-73689 |
| 7. The Harmony of Heritage – Ban Hoa Ca Di San | On 25 September 2025, as part of ArtTech Fusion 2025, UEH organized a musical performance combining Vietnamese folk pieces such as Trong Com, Ly Muoi Thuong and Ly Ngua O with international instruments, orchestral music, choral singing and contemporary music. More than 1,500 people attended, bringing traditional musical heritage closer to young audiences and international guests. | National cultural heritage – re-creation and transmission of folk arts; supporting evidence. | A live performance in 2025, with a published report, photographs of performers and information about traditional musical works presented.   |
Source: UEH Portal – The Harmony of Heritage: An Artistic Journey Connecting Cultural Heritage. https://www.ueh.edu.vn/cuoc-song-ueh/tin-tuc/the-harmony-of-heritage-ban-hoa-ca-di-san-hanh-trinh-nghe-thuat-ket-noi-di-san-van-hoa-74879 |
| 8. Bunpimay and Chol Chnam Thmay Traditional New Year Gathering – UEH 2025 | On 12 April 2025, UEH organized a Vietnam–Laos–Cambodia cultural exchange, enabling international students to present and practise traditional rituals and customs, including wrist-thread tying, festive water splashing and folk cultural activities. The event helped students maintain connections with their home cultures and fostered cultural exchange and understanding among the three countries. | Traditional cultural heritage of international student communities – cultural practice and exchange; supporting evidence. Not classified as the heritage of displaced communities. | An actual exchange event, with photographs of traditional rituals, a published summary and public media materials.
|
Source: UEH Portal – Bunpimay and Chol Chnam Thmay Traditional New Year Gathering at the UEH 2025 Vietnam–Laos–Cambodia Friendship Cultural Exchange. https://ueh.edu.vn/cuoc-song-ueh/tin-tuc/hop-mat-tet-co-truyen-bunpimay-va-chol-chnam-thmay-tai-chuong-trinh-giao-luu-van-hoa-huu-nghi-viet-nam-lao-campuchia-ueh-2025-73848 |
| 9. UEH International Cultural Festival 2025 | In 2025, UEH hosted an international cultural festival featuring music, traditional costumes and presentations of the cultural identities of Vietnamese and international student communities. Students developed and performed the programmes, creating opportunities for cultural exchange, intergenerational transmission and greater understanding of national traditions. | International cultural exchange and dissemination – supporting evidence. Does not establish preservation of the heritage of displaced communities. | Cultural performances, photographs and a programme summary published in 2025.   |
Source: UEH Portal – UEH International Cultural Festival 2025. https://www.ueh.edu.vn/cuoc-song-ueh/tin-tuc/le-hoi-van-hoa-cac-quoc-gia-ueh-international-cultural-festival-2025-lan-toa-tinh-than-giao-luu-va-hoi-nhap-da-van-hoa-75420 |
| 10. UEH E-History 2025 | On 29 October 2025, UEH launched its E-History website, a digital archive introducing the University’s founding, development and historical milestones. The platform uses photographs, videos and historical documents to preserve institutional memory, connect generations of the UEH community and broaden access to historical information. | Institutional historical heritage – digital archiving and dissemination capacity; supporting evidence. Does not yet demonstrate archiving of local communities’ intangible cultural heritage. | The E-History website launched in 2025, publishing historical documents and images from UEH’s history on a digital platform.
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Source 1: UEH Portal – UEH Launches the E-History Website: Preserving Values and Connecting Knowledge for the Future. https://ueh.edu.vn/cuoc-song-ueh/tin-tuc/ueh-ra-mat-website-e-history-hanh-trinh-luu-giu-gia-tri-va-ket-noi-tri-thuc-huong-den-tuong-lai-75149. Source 2: UEH E-History website. https://ehistory.ueh.edu.vn/ |
| 11. Cultural Heritage Preservation Communications Series in 2025 | According to UEH’s 2025 innovation summary, communications activities relating to cultural and heritage preservation raised awareness and disseminated cultural values within the community. The themes, content and results of each series still need to be distinguished to establish their direct contribution to intangible heritage preservation. | Communications and awareness-raising – supporting evidence. | UEH’s 2025 innovation report recorded 20 communications series. | Source: UEH Portal – UEH Innovations 2025, Part 2: Innovations Improving Governance, Operations and Community Impact. https://ueh.edu.vn/college/cob/vi/%5Bsang-kien-ueh-nam-2025%5D-phan-2-nhung-sang-kien-nang-cao-hieu-qua-quan-tri-van-hanh-va-lan-toa-gia-tri-cong-dong-75701 |
| 12. UEH Day 2025 – Together We Share | UEH Day 2025 connected generations of staff, students and alumni, enabling them to share memories, carry forward traditions and promote cultural values developed throughout the University’s history. | Institutional culture and memory – supporting evidence. Not a project documenting communities’ intangible cultural heritage. | A live programme, news reports, photographs and content introducing ONE UEH culture. | Source: UEH Portal – UEH Day 2025 – Together We Share: A Journey of Inheriting and Creating Distinctive Cultural Values Officially Begins. https://ueh.edu.vn/cuoc-song-ueh/tin-tuc/ueh-day-2025-together-we-share-hanh-trinh-ke-thua-va-kien-tao-nhung-gia-tri-van-hoa-giau-ban-sac-chinh-thuc-bat-dau-74378 |
3. Results and Contributions to SDG 11
In 2025, UEH conducted activities and published outputs combining art, technology and culture, thereby broadening approaches to engaging with and transmitting heritage values.
At the local and regional levels, The Legend Map: Vietnam workshop brought personal memories and place-based narratives into an artistic co-creation setting in Ho Chi Minh City. In Khanh Hoa, the Miracai proposal in the Cai River Heritage Route International Design Competition advocated heritage preservation and digitization, linking community memories with landscape-development strategies and cultural spaces.
At the national level, Color of Culture presented interactive AR artworks depicting the cultural diversity of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups. Folk cultural activities such as Nguon Xanh Sac Viet, alongside Hoa Sac and The Harmony of Heritage, gave younger generations further opportunities to learn about and experience traditional cultural values.
In parallel, UEH maintained cultural exchanges among domestic and international student communities and developed the E-History platform to archive and share the University’s historical materials.
These outcomes reflect UEH’s efforts to connect traditional culture with research, education and creative technology. Dedicated documentary collections covering community narratives, languages, customs and traditional knowledge would further strengthen the University’s direct contribution to recording and preserving intangible cultural heritage.
4. Conclusion
Through its activities in 2025, UEH continued contributing to the identification, re-creation, transmission and promotion of traditional cultural values by combining research, education, art and digital technology.
Alongside art-and-technology projects such as The Legend Map: Vietnam, Color of Culture and Miracai, activities involving traditional cultural practice and transmission—including Nguon Xanh Sac Viet, UEH Youth Festival – Hoa Sac, The Harmony of Heritage and the Vietnam–Laos–Cambodia cultural exchange—expanded student and community engagement in recognizing, preserving and promoting heritage. These outcomes provide a foundation for UEH to develop more dedicated documentation, archiving and intangible cultural heritage preservation projects with tangible outputs.
These efforts contributed to SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, particularly the protection and promotion of cultural heritage, while laying groundwork for systematic projects to document and preserve intangible cultural heritage in the future.