VietNamNet Bridge – A program introducing Swedish innovations and initiatives began in HCM City on November 10 and will last until the end of the month.

Co-organised by the Swedish Embassy, the Swedish Institute and HCMC People’s Committee, “Innovative Sweden” is part of a series of activities to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Sweden diplomatic ties.

“Innovation and economic growth are attached to one another. Vietnam aims to increase its innovative capacity and climb the global value chain while Sweden is currently recognized as one of the world's most innovative countries. Swedish companies, universities, public agencies and other organizations are eager to join Vietnam's journey and contribute to its efforts to increase its innovative capacity – for the benefit of Vietnam and its people,” said Ms. Camilla Mellander, Ambassador of Sweden to Vietnam at the opening ceremony.

“Sweden has long been considered a nation that embeds innovations. Through Innovative Sweden, we want to share these experiences with Vietnam to cultivate a culture of creativity here and to facilitate a mutual exchange of solutions and innovations for the future,” said Ms. Annika Rembe, Director-General of the Swedish Institute.

The Innovative Sweden Exhibition showcases cutting-edge innovations within ICT, Life Science, Clean Technology and Gaming, which have been developed by twenty young start-up companies. Initiated by the Swedish Institute, the international tour of the exhibition started at Stanford University, Silicon Valley in 2011. So far the exhibition has been shown in USA, Canada, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Korea and Indonesia before its presentation in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam during three weeks in November.

The exhibition gives a glimpse of innovations from Sweden today from start-up companies that may become the leading Swedish corporations of tomorrow. The exhibition is complemented by an extensive program of seminars, creative workshops and cultural events, tailored to the Vietnamese audience.

These include business seminars on Sustainable Transport, Cleantech, Innovative Media, Disaster Relief, Education as well as a photo exhibition which takes a close look at Swedish innovations from Vietnamese lenses. The cultural activities consist of a Swedish film festival, a LunchBeat (disco lunch), a Swedish gaming competition with Battle Field and Candy Crush Saga and the 2014 European Music Festival with Swedish singer Kristin Amparo.

The exhibition is open to the public daily from 08:00 to 17:00, including weekends at Hoa Sen University.

PV