In 2000 the then Ministry of Culture and Information received a substantial grant from the Ford Foundation to realise phase 1 of a project entitled ‘Arts Management Curriculum Development in a Market Economy Context’, aimed at developing integrated curricula for various sectors of arts management in Việt Nam in accordance with the current Vietnamese government policy of ‘Socialisation’ of arts and culture. The aims were to help the Vietnamese arts sector to approach audience development in a professional way from research to project implementation; to develop audiences by means of educational activities geared to enhancing understanding and enjoyment of the arts amongst the general public and inspiring interest and participation in the arts amongst young people; to strengthen appreciation of traditional Vietnamese art and culture within Việt Nam, and devise ways of contextualising it so as to enhance understanding amongst international audiences; to diversify potential sources of funding through a systematic programme of fundraising; to facilitate the establishment of new systems in key areas such as intellectual copyright and laws of contract and liability; to provide a framework for developing a systematic approach to dealing with changing cultural and economic policies and circumstances; to introduce into the management of the cultural sector mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation in order to provide information for training institutions and policy makers; and to develop management practice that will facilitate international co-operation, networking, the initiation of trans-national projects and touring on a worldwide basis. The international elements of the four-year phase 1 project were co-ordinated by Visiting Arts, publisher of this profile. Key components included: (i) overseas study tours to introduce courses in arts administration and the practical skills involved in managing arts organisations in a market economy context; (ii) overseas internships and placements to permit in-depth study of arts management practice in selected cultural and arts institutions; (iii) overseas MA scholarships at appropriate higher education institutions; and (iv) extensive research and documentation of case studies for use in the future curriculum. During the course of the project participants learned from the widest range of overseas experience, whilst acquiring the skills to devise arts management curricula appropriate to Việt Nam. Having successfully completed phase 1 of the project, the lead partner the Hà Nội University of Culture has now embarked upon phase 2, which seeks to build upon the previous four years of work by launching in 2005 Việt Nam's first undergraduate degree in Culture Management and enhancing the teaching skills of university staff.