With Vanessa von Gliszczynski
- What are the key technical and methodological challenges in digitising both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, particularly in ensuring accuracy, context, and long-term preservation?
Cultural heritage objects within museum collections are highly diverse and originate from various communities across Indonesia. Completing data and contextual background is often challenging, as information and sources are frequently limited. In addition, there are multiple perspectives on any given cultural heritage (for example, national, local, and others), making it difficult to establish a single viewpoint as the most accurate. In essence, there is no single interpretation of a cultural heritage object. - How does the digital representation of cultural heritage reshape collective memory and identity, especially for younger generations who primarily engage with heritage online?
Digital representations can serve as a resource for cultural heritage that is no longer widely remembered. Through these representations, younger generations can gain an understanding of the history and background of Indonesia’s diverse cultures. Furthermore, digital representations also support an understanding of the colonial period and historical global connections. - What are the key legal and structural challenges related to copyright and ownership when cultural heritage—both tangible and intangible—is digitised, particularly in balancing protection, access, and the rights of source communities?
The fundamental question is: who has the right to upload cultural heritage data? From the perspective of museums in Europe, the creators of cultural heritage—whether tangible or intangible—are often unknown. So, who holds the authority to make decisions? Is it the institution where the heritage is currently held, or the community that produced the object decades ago? Ideally, such decisions should be made collaboratively, where possible. At its core, this is a discussion about cultural copyright. - What role should governments and cultural institutions play in regulating and supporting digitisation, particularly in ensuring ethical standards, data sovereignty, and equitable access?
The role of museums is to facilitate access to cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, through both analogue and digital means. In the digital sphere, museums are also responsible for ensuring that digital representations are not misused or placed within contexts that are, for example, racist. - How can local communities—especially young people—be meaningfully involved in the digital preservation of their cultural heritage without losing authenticity or agency?
Is there truly such a thing as “authenticity”? There are often multiple interpretations of a cultural heritage object, depending on the perspective of the observer. For instance, the views of younger generations on a particular heritage may differ significantly from those of other generations. Therefore, it is important to foster dialogue, especially with contemporary generations, to discuss what cultural heritage means to them today: what should be preserved, what remains the same, and where and why interpretations have changed. It is hoped that more dialogue can be established between cultural institutions, such as our museum, and younger generations.
