On January 23, the Vietnam Craft Village Association presented certificates of merit and conferred ”Craft Village 2009” title on six outstanding craft villages, nine businesses, 29 artisans and six products that represent the nation’s culture.

Despite facing the global financial downturn in 2009, many exemplary craft villages showed their creativity and dynamically overcame every difficulty to preserve and develop the values of Vietnam’s traditional craft villages.

This is the third time these outstanding organisations and individuals have been honoured.

On the occasion, The HCM City-based Vietbooks Corporation and the Vietnam Record Book Centre announced a programme to search for craft groups and artisans and a meeting of highly skilled artisans who represent the best of Vietnam’s traditional crafts and express profound gratitude to ancestors that taught them the traditions.