World Coffee Heritage Forum – A space for dialogue connecting global coffee culture and knowledge

"Coffee is a ritual that connects people in community life" - Writer Charles Bukowski (1920–1994)

High-level international dialogue forum on coffee heritage, culture, and future

Following the scientific conference – international forum “Global Coffee Industry Value Chain – Global, Local, and Sustainable Development” (December 2025), the World Coffee Forum “From Diverse Traditions to the Shared Living Heritage of Humanity” took place from April 17-19 in Buon Ma Thuot, organized by the People’s Committee of Dak Lak in collaboration with UNESCO, Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture, and accompanied by Trung Nguyen Legend Group.

The forum was honored to welcome Mr. Nguyen Minh Vu, Member of the Central Party Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, leaders of central and local agencies of Dak Lak, ambassadors, consuls general from major coffee powers, along with international organizations, experts, and celebrities in the field of culture and coffee practice both domestically and internationally. This gathering created a multidimensional dialogue space, reflecting the interdisciplinary and intercultural nature of coffee in the global context.

Speaking at the program, Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu highly appreciated the efforts of Dak Lak in spreading the values and cultural traditions of Dak Lak coffee in the sustainable development resources of the nation: “Introducing the knowledge of growing and processing Dak Lak coffee to the international community not only helps promote the image of the Central Highlands land and people but also fosters multicultural dialogue, enhances the added value of the Vietnamese coffee industry, thereby gradually establishing Vietnam’s unique position on the world coffee map,” shared Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu.

The World Coffee Heritage Forum in Buon Ma Thuot, gathering leaders, international organisations, and experts, opens a high-level dialogue space on coffee heritage, culture, and future.

With the theme “From Diverse Traditions to the Shared Living Heritage of Humanity”, the World Coffee Heritage Forum received nearly 40 research papers from domestic and international scientists and experts approaching coffee from various perspectives, including economics, society, culture, heritage studies, processing technology, global value chains, and sustainable development...

Among them, 14 notable papers were presented directly at the forum on April 18 through four in-depth discussion sessions moderated by domestic and international managers and experts, covering topics such as: “History of World Coffee”; “Coffee Cultivation and Production Process”; “Global Consumption Culture and the Development Process of Coffee Heritage”; “Best Practices in Protection and Sustainable Development” to discuss the global coffee heritage values.

In the session on “History of World Coffee”, international papers from countries with prominent coffee cultures, such as Palestine, Colombia, Turkey, and Italy, depicted the journey of coffee through various civilisations. This showcased the diversity in reception and practice in each country, creating a “resilient vitality” and the global spread of coffee, while affirming coffee’s role as a “social communication and cultural exchange space”.

In the topic “Coffee Cultivation and Production Process”, discussions delved into the coffee cultivation and production ecosystem as an integrated entity connecting indigenous knowledge, cultural landscapes, and community livelihoods. Analyses of the global coffee value chain, the coffee industry’s social responsibility towards the community, along with development orientations for Dak Lak from a key raw material region to becoming the “World Coffee Capital”, are linked with the journey to build Vietnam’s coffee cultural landscape towards UNESCO heritage and promote the coffee ecosystem in the global green transition process.

Additionally, the topic “Global Consumption Culture and the Development Process of Coffee Heritage” at the forum opened up approaches to coffee from cultural and lifestyle perspectives, how people meet, dialogue, and create. The transformation of coffee spaces from consumption experiences to cultural and heritage spaces, contemporary coffee philosophies and practices, such as Coffee Philosophy, Slow Coffee Culture, Coffee Meditation, along with digital technology applications, are shaping coffee as a “living heritage” capable of strong adaptation and dissemination in contemporary life.

Within the framework of the World Coffee Heritage Forum, Mr. Dao My, Provincial Party Member, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dak Lak met and exchanged with ambassadors, consuls general of major coffee powers, and international delegates about the values of Dak Lak coffee, Vietnam, in honouring cultural diversity and preserving the living heritage of humanity.

Expanding from international references, the session “Best Practices in Protection and Sustainable Development” shared specific models with good practices from Thailand and FAO’s approach to a sustainable coffee system, harmonising community livelihoods and the environment. On this basis, discussions further clarified the concept and criteria of “Good Practice” according to UNESCO, emphasising the central role of the community in preserving, transmitting, and promoting heritage, as well as the opportunity for sustainable livelihood development for the community when heritage is correctly identified and valued.

In his opening remarks at the Forum, Mr. Dao My - Provincial Party Member, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dak Lak Province emphasized: “The forum is not only a place for academic and practical exchange but also a practical step to further clarify the outstanding value of coffee heritage in the context of globalization, promoting dialogue between coffee civilizations, sharing international experiences in protecting intangible cultural heritage, especially the Good Practice models according to the 2003 UNESCO Convention”.

Within the framework of the Forum, many activities were also organised to contribute to providing a comprehensive experience of the value of Vietnamese coffee from Physical Coffee – Social Coffee – Spiritual Coffee, going beyond the framework of “an agricultural product or economic sector” to be recognised as a “living heritage” associated with community identity and lifestyle.

Ms. Urawadee Sriphiromya - Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to Vietnam, Ms. Camila Polo Florez - Ambassador of Colombia to Vietnam, Mr. Saadi Salama - Ambassador of Palestine to Vietnam (centre from left to right), experiencing local coffee culture in the coffee garden space in Buon Tong Ju, Dak Lak.

Vietnamese coffee and the vision of a “living heritage” in the global flow

At the World Coffee Heritage Forum – “From Diverse Traditions to the Shared Living Heritage of Humanity”, coffee is perceived not just as an agricultural product or an economic sector, but as a “living heritage” – a cultural space where knowledge, customs, lifestyles, and spiritual values are crystallized, created, practiced, and transmitted by the community through generations.

From a heritage studies perspective, Mr. Jonathan Baker – UNESCO Representative in Vietnam stated: “According to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, heritage is not understood as an object or product, but as knowledge, skills, social practices, and meanings that the community recognises as part of its cultural life and transmits through generations”.

In practice, the historical process of coffee for humanity has never been just the history of a crop. It is also the history of exchange, trade, knowledge, creativity, development aspirations, and enduring encounters between people. From Ethiopia, Yemen, the Ottoman Empire, Europe, America, to Asia and Vietnam, each land and country receiving coffee has contributed to enriching that common value with its identity, memory, and unique values, creating a diverse and distinctive cultural ecosystem from coffee and connecting in the global flow.

This is the foundation for the enduring vitality of coffee, as well as promoting efforts to elevate coffee to become a shared living heritage – not homogenised, not dissolved, but coexisting, respecting, dialoguing, and elevating each other.

Guests, ambassadors, consuls general of countries with distinctive coffee traditions visit the World Coffee Museum – the iconic structure of the coffee capital Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak – the World Coffee City.

In this context, Vietnam holds a special position, not only as one of the world’s leading coffee producers and exporters but also as a place where unique conditions converge to form and develop a rich and distinctive coffee culture. Especially in Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak, coffee is closely linked with indigenous knowledge systems of cultivation, care, harvesting, processing, enjoyment, cultural interaction, and organising life associated with coffee, gathering the values of a “living heritage”, which needs to be preserved, maintained, and continued to be vibrant in current life.

In March 2025, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism awarded the certification “Knowledge of Growing and Processing Dak Lak Coffee” as a national intangible cultural heritage, affirming the value of coffee with indigenous knowledge, community creativity, and the harmonious relationship between humans, nature, and culture. Following the national title, clearly identifying the outstanding values of “Knowledge of Growing and Processing Dak Lak Coffee” – as a vibrant cultural entity with historical depth, community value, and significant meaning in the current period is important.

Sharing at the forum, according to the representative of Trung Nguyen Legend Group, a heritage truly “lives” when it is correctly understood, practised, continuously transmitted, and creatively adapted in the contemporary context by the community. This is also the basis for sustainably preserving and promoting coffee values, associated with socio-economic development and improving community life.

In the context of the world facing many challenges in social connectivity and sustainable development, positioning Vietnamese coffee as a “living heritage” will contribute to bringing Vietnamese coffee towards becoming a common language of harmony, creativity, and sustainable development, where cultures can coexist, respect each other, and develop together, contributing to human civilisation.

According to the philosophy of Founder and Chairman of Trung Nguyen Legend Group Dang Le Nguyen Vu: “Coffee is the treasure of Heaven and Earth, the Heritage of Humanity, the Solution for the Future”. Coffee, therefore, is not just the story of a commodity, but becomes part of a larger journey: the journey to create meaningful cultural values for the present and future of humanity. This is also the foundation contributing to positioning places like Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak, Vietnam, as exemplary spaces of world coffee culture.

Dak Lak coffee is perceived as a comprehensive ecosystem where indigenous knowledge, cultural landscapes, and community livelihoods intertwine in the global value chain.

The World Coffee Heritage Forum 2026 is not only an academic event but also a practical step to create a dialogue space to identify, systematise, and elevate the value of “knowledge of growing, processing, and enjoying coffee” as a vibrant cultural entity.

With the support of the government, local authorities, the efforts of businesses and the community, the exchanges, international experiences, and initiatives at the World Coffee Heritage Forum are expected to continue laying the scientific and practical foundation for “Knowledge of Growing, Processing Dak Lak Coffee” to be listed among UNESCO’s good practices for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, contributing to making Vietnamese coffee culture a symbol of national cultural identity globally, recognized by UNESCO as a heritage of humanity.

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