Under the framework of the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival 2020, in the morning of October 16, 2020, at the Ao Dai Exhibition in District 1, Vietnam Signature Cooperation Company, Ao Dai Museum cooperated with the Tourism Institute of the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City organized a scientific seminar with the topic "Ao Dai and Cultural Heritage".

Vietnam has 13 heritages recognized by UNESCO as the representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Among them, there are 7 heritages related to Ao Dai, such as Nha Nhac Vietnamese court music, Quan Họ Bắc Ninh folk songs, Ca trù singing, Art of Đờn ca tài tử music and song in southern Viet Nam, Ví and Giặm folk songs of Nghệ Tĩnh, Practices related to the Viet beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms, Xoan singing. Ao dai or four-piece dress were the main costume used in folk arts all over the country.

Not many national costumes contribute to the process of honoring the representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity as much as the Ao Dai.

Ms. Huynh Ngoc Van - Director of the Ao Dai Museum

Ms. Huynh Ngoc Van - Director of the Ao Dai Museum said: This seminar will give a more comprehensive view of the role of the Ao Dai in the performance of Vietnamese cultural heritages, especially the heritage has been honored by UNESCO as "The Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity".

The seminar will listen and summary of the valuable experiences of artisans and artists who have performed cultural heritages in ao dai. Since then, the value of Ao Dai will be preserved and promoted and associated with cultural heritage, combined with the orientation of developing tourism products.

Dr. Nguyen Duc Tri - Director of the Institute of Tourism, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City

The original culture needs tourism to revive, Dr. Nguyen Duc Tri - Director of the Institute of Tourism, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City said: These are invaluable treasures that cannot be forgotten. Tourism should not only be about exploiting traditional cultures but finding ways to revive and make it meaningful to locals’ lives.

That is the necessary premise to uphold the original culture and breathe life into the products and services for visitors. The documentation and dissemination of values ​​to the community is the necessary facilitation for this process, concludes Dr. Duc Tri.

Excellent artist Nguyen Hong Oanh and students at the Exhibition of Ao Dai and Cultural Heritage

At the seminar, speakers including researchers, cultural experts, meritorious artists, artisans presented their presentations and contributed ideas to find out and propose possible solutions to bring the Ao Dai and other cultural heritage to serve the development of Vietnam's tourism industry.