Member countries of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) forum, as well as other countries from around the world, will meet in Hanoi on December 15-16 to share experiences in preserving and promoting cultural diversity.

The event takes place at a time when a number of nations have seen their unique cultural identities being gradually eroded in the current context of trade globalisation.

The meeting will attract scholars, high-level officials and policy-makers, as well as influential people from Asia and Europe. They will discuss issues relating to the diversity of cultural expressions such as public policies, cultural exchanges, influence of trade upon culture and a host of more general activities to promote cultural diversity.

Addressing a press briefing in Hanoi on December 12, the ambassador and head of the EC delegation to Vietnam, Sean Doyle, said that cultural diversity plays an important role as it helps promote “inclusion and tolerance” and intensify cooperation and dialogue between different nations and cultures. This leads to an improvement in the relations between people and nations.

“Vietnam has a particularly diverse culture,” said Doyle, adding that the two-day event will provide a chance for the country to “display its own cultural richness and show that it is integrating into the world.”

Nguyen Van Tinh, head of the International Relations Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the seminar will call upon other countries to ratify the UNESCO 2005 convention on preserving and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions.

The convention, approved by UNESCO during its 33^rd session in October 2005 in Paris, has so far been signed by almost 200 countries. However, only 80 countries, including Vietnam, have ratified it.