Festival to highlight wisdom of ethnic cultures in Hanoi

Tay people perform their traditional music at the previous festival I Believe I Can

The art performance will take place from 7pm, and will include the participation of various ethnic peoples from Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Quang Tri, and Soc Trang Provinces.

The event will feature the Lullaby Kun A Y (Mother’s miracle) of the Pakoh, the gongs dance of the Mnông, and a love song of the Pa Then.

The performance will highlight the maturity ceremony of the Dao, the Chol Chnam Thmay New Year festival of the Khmer, and a traditional costume show of the Nung.

The performance is part of the I Believe I Can 2018 festival.

With the theme of Indigenous Knowledge – Spring of Life, the festival will take place on June 1-2 in Hanoi.

“It celebrates the beauty of knowledge embedded within each cultural practice of more than 20 ethnic communities from many parts of the country. The festival is presenting co-research results and an art performance of 170 community members that will show their wisdom from within,” said Hoang Thi Thu Huong, vice director of the Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment (iSEE).

“It aims to honour the local indigenuous knowledge of the ethnic groups through exhibitions, workshops and art performances,” she added.

I Believe I Can will begin Friday at the Exhibition House, located at 93 Dinh Tien Hoang Street.

On display will be research on the Pakoh and Tà Ôi’s languages; a collection of Môong fairy tales, a documentary film called “Research on indigenous knowledge of the Tay people in conservation of natural forests”.

It will also include results of the photovoice project among the Khmer ethnic group in the southern province of Tra Vinh.

Representatives for the youth of ethnic groups will join a Youth Learning Forum on the same day where they will focus on networking and sharing expertise on topics such as ethnic youth and ethnic culture, education, employment, marriage and the environment.

The festival will officially open at L’Espace, located at 24 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi. The opening ceremony will be followed by a talk show called “Wisdom from within” with discussions among community members and researchers on indigenous knowledge, reflections on co-research methodology by community members and experts, and sharing by artists partnering with community members in presenting co-research results.

The annual event was initiated in 2015 by various organisations such as the Pioneer To Promote Cultural Diversity and Mutual Respect And Empathy Among Ethnic groups. Since 2016, it has been co-hosted by three networks of ethnic people include the Pioneer, Action for Hmong Development (AHD), and VTIK – a network promoting indigenous knowledge of the Thai people.

The festival this year is supported by Irish Aid, the EU, CARE International, Plan International, and ChildFund, as well as iSEE, the Centre for Community Empowerment (CECEM), and the Centre for Sustainable Development in Mountainous Areas (CSDM).