Part 1

• Creative Innovations in Dai Bai Craft Village, Northern Vietnam Tuan Anh Nguyen VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities

  Based on an anthropological and sociological study conducted in Dai Bai craft village in Bac Ninh province, this paper focuses on the creative innovations in craft production. Dai Bai is a craft village that dates back to the 10th century and specializes in various products, primarily household items, handicrafts, and religious artifacts made from bronze, copper, and aluminum. While the village is well-known for its long-standing bronze casting tradition, the craft production processes have undergone significant transformations over the past few decades. The paper describes the creative innovations throughout the craft production chain, including the sourcing of raw materials, the application of technology and machinery in production, the organization of the production process, and product marketing. It shows how these creative innovations build upon traditional production methods and the localization of global demand. Furthermore, the paper highlights how these creative innovations reflect the adaptation of a traditional craft village in the face of modernization, globalization, and digital transformation in Vietnam.

• Technologies, Milk Metrics, and Cows’ Bodies: Changing dynamics in North Vietnamese dairy production Nadja Kempter University of Zurich

  In the last two decades, a rapid and steep increase in investment and growth can be observed in Vietnam’s dairy sector whereby the use of new technologies is emphasized as the path to a modernized Vietnamese Dairy production. While the Vietnamese government is pushing for innovation and modernization in the dairy industry, especially in favor of industrialized dairy production, small-scale family-run farms are still making up the majority of dairy producers in Vietnam. This paper aims to have a closer look at these bigger dynamics in a small village in Norther Vietnam. By examining the rapidly changing dynamics in a Northern Vietnamese village, the paper traces the different notions, expectations, and promises of new modern technology introduced in dairy production. It will further critically discuss how technology is changing the perception of work, cow bodies, and the very substance of milk for producers as well as for consumers of milk in Vietnam.

• The dream of nurturing one million entrepreneurs: The promise of innovation and creativity in the Vietnamese start-up culture Esther Horat University of Zurich

  In this paper, I will take a close look at the so-called start-up ecosystem in Vietnam, which contains actors, activities, and spaces. Regarding spaces, makerspaces are of importance because they are believed to be crucial to stimulate creativity, which, again, is seen as vital for entrepreneurial success. While makerspaces have become an established part of many universities in the Western world, they are still emerging in the Global South, where they are part of a more recent development. This paper will examine the practices and promises related to makerspaces and entrepreneurial competitions in Vietnam through ethnographic research. While innovation and creativity are seen as fundamental aspects of the start-up ecosystem – both as driver and end product – the question of how, and by whom, innovation is made needs closer scrutiny. When is an idea or product considered innovative, and what is the process that leads to this assessment? Based on more than 12 months of fieldwork, this paper draws on data gathered from ethnographic methods such as participant observation, interviews, and informal conversations with a variety of stakeholders, including social entrepreneurs and start-up entrepreneurs.

Part 2

• Be more, together: Community building in Space-as-a-Service startups in Viet Nam Phuong Nguyen University of Zurich

  Over the past few years, the Vietnamese real estate sector has witnessed a profound transformation characterised by the rise of innovative space-sharing (Space-as-a-Service) startups, exemplified by coworking and coliving spaces. This paper explores and investigates the concept of “community building” as a pivotal aspect of these startups’ innovation. In coworking spaces, the open design fosters collaboration, promising to strengthen networks among entrepreneurs, startup employees, freelancers and creative workers. Conversely, coliving spaces prioritise connection, fostering sense of community and personal growth among young urban professionals with a promise to be the cure for “urban loneliness”. Facilitated by modern architectural designs of the built environment, these startups prioritise the cultivation of vibrant user communities, targeting the needs of a thriving young generation within Vietnam’s new economy.
  However, the meaning of “community” and community building processes remains largely unquestioned in these settings. This paper offers an ethnographic account of these collective commercial and residential real estate startups to unpack the nuances of community within their spaces. Against the historical and political backdrop of Vietnam’s post-socialist era and the recent governmental push for innovation, I argue that while these capitalist-driven shared space startups claim to foster community, they simultaneously promote individualised development. Within these spaces, young urbanites navigate the construction of their identities and pursue their visions of the future amidst the changing landscape of contemporary urban Viet Nam.

• Poetry Day and The Politics of Poetics in Vietnam Tara Westmor University of California, Riverside

  Beginning with an exploration of the historical significance of poetry in Vietnam, this paper highlights poetry’s integral role in shaping national identity and fostering cultural exchange. This paper examines Vietnam’s annual National Poetry Day celebration. This year’s Poetry Day served as a focal point for honoring poets from all 54 ethnicities of Vietnam, underscoring the diversity of voices represented and the importance of preserving tradition and cultural heritage. This paper is situated during large economic growth projects, such as the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), which “promote[s] cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.” It is also interested in innovation and poetry’s place in Vietnam’s burgeoning fourth Industrial Revolution (Vietnam 4.0), where Cultural and Creative industries (CCI) play a prominent role. I ask does poetry, a traditional form of literary expression used to mobilize the Cultural Revolution, play a role in Vietnam’s government effort to promote the cultural and creative economy? National Poetry is a stage where these tensions between tradition and innovation play out. If poetry was an important postcolonial nation-building strategy, this research will determine how it serves late/postsocialist agendas today.

• Thích Nh?t H?nh and the Ambivalence of Buddhist Innovation Alexander Soucy Saint Mary's University

  Arguably, Thích Nh?t H?nh has been associated with re-imagining Vietnamese Buddhism for the contemporary world more than any other Buddhist leader. The extent of his innovations have evoked comment by scholars that he does not represent Vietnamese Buddhism, and have elicted criticism in interviews I have conducted with Vietnamese Buddhist monastics that his teachings and organisation are not even Buddhist. Thích Nh?t H?nh, himself, started his career calling for reform in order to make Buddhism more sutable for the modern world, and for Buddhists to be socially engaged. However, as he established himself as an international leader and his organisation grew, he increasingly retreated from a number of those innovations and wanted to be understood as part of a Vietnamese Buddhist tradition. For example, the initial group that he etablished in France was characterized by an egalitarianism between monastics and lay Buddhists, but as his following grew, he retreated back into a more hierarchical model of monastic leadership. This paper will explore Thích Nh?t H?nh’s ambivalence towards innovation over the course of his life, and how it shows the limits of innovation in religion, which is especially reliant on historical precedent, form and structures for legitimacy.

Abstract