Canada helps preserve old Hanoi architecture HANOI - The completion of a three-year project to conserve Vietnam's urban architectural heritage was celebrated at a meeting at the Ministry of Construction in Hanoi last week. The US$20,000 research and education project to promote protection of the capital city's Old Quarter was run by the Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) and the Institute of Architectural Research (IAR) and funded by the Canadian Embassy in Hanoi. Vietnam's capital is considered to be a treasure trove because it has retained architectural elements that disappeared from the rest of the region long ago. The conservation project is part of preparation for the celebration of Hanoi's upcoming thousandth anniversary. Local partner IAR supplied the staff and created favourable conditions to help CECI's Chantal Grise and Jean Desy as they worked to preserve Hanoi's heritage under CECI's Volunteer Cooperation Programme in Vietnam and Asia. The programme places Canadian experts with professionals in developing countries to transfer skills and exchange knowledge and experience. The Hanoi project has resulted in a book entitled Preserving Hanoi's Architectural and Landscape Heritage, which includes chapters on the Old Quarter's 36 streets, colonial quarters, religious architecture, patriotic monuments, and traditional craft villages. IAR and CECI have already embarked on their next project, a two-year, US$ 20,000 conservation survey of the city's traditional craft villages which is also being funded by the Canadian Embassy. A book is planned for the end of this year. Director of the IAR Nguyen Viet Chau told the gathering that the cooperation to preserve cultural heritage would encourage Hanoi's citizens to conserve early architecture and would prove to be a valuable cultural exchange. Vietnam News Agency - March 20, 2000.