Vietnam is betting that TikTok-era creativity can keep centuries-old tradition alive. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, working with VTC Multimedia Corporation, has launched Bản sắc 2026 (Identity), an online programme that challenges young people to explore and promote Vietnamese cultural identity using digital tools — including artificial intelligence. It all builds towards Vietnamese Culture Day on November 24.

The format is content-driven rather than academic. Participants pitch Vietnamese cultural themes through vodcasts, imagery and audio-visual effects, hosted at www.bansac.vn and across the programme's apps and social channels. Notably, this year's rules explicitly allow AI in producing vodcasts and visuals — though organisers frame the tech as a support tool for human creativity, not a substitute for it.

VTC Deputy General Director Dương Thế Lương made the case plainly: cultural values need to show up in engaging ways where young people already spend their time. Digital media, he argued, gives a new generation the chance to interpret and share cultural stories on their own terms rather than receiving them top-down.

The timing matters too. The programme aligns with Politburo Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, issued December 22, 2024, which pushes science, technology, innovation and digital transformation — here applied specifically to preserving and promoting heritage. Entries and online quizzes ran from September 15 to October 26, 2026, with judging and final-round voting from October 27 to November 10, and an awards ceremony planned for November.

For travellers, this is a useful signal about where Vietnamese culture is heading. If you're planning a trip, expect a country actively digitising its own story — folk music, festivals, craft villages and cuisine surfacing in fresh, youth-made formats online. Following channels like Bản sắc before you go is a surprisingly good way to build a trip list beyond the usual Hanoi Old Quarter and Ha Long Bay highlights, and to understand which traditions locals themselves are proud to showcase. Vietnamese Culture Day on November 24 is also worth keeping in mind when timing an autumn visit.