Encounters with new technologies often bring with them opportunities to create new narratives, but they also bear the potential to entrench existing ones that have prioritized certain perspectives in place of others. This presentation looks at the ways in which digital tools and platforms are currently being used within the museum sector across different African countries. What challenges do these platforms present and how do they allow practitioners to subvert entrenched ideologies? Most importantly, it looks at the implementation of these technologies and questions what is needed to successfully scale, implement and support a growing ecosystem of digital cultural practitioners in the region?
Chao Tayiana Maina is a Kenyan historian and digital heritage specialist that works at the intersection of digital humanities and public education. She uses digital technologies to unearth previously hidden or suppressed historical narratives, make these accessible to a wider audience and enable communities to engage with their cultural heritage. She has a background in computer sciences with a specialization in digital heritage studies.
She is the founder of African Digital Heritage, a co-founder of the Museum of British Colonialism and a co-founder of the Open Restitution Africa project.
Thursday, 2 November 2023
14.00 - 15.00
C²DH Open Space (4th floor, Maison des Sciences humaines) and online.