The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) collaborated with the OvaHimba people to co-create the digitalization of cultural heritage.
The project involved on-site engagement with the OvaHimba people and led to the collaborative creation of a digital, multi-lingual, and multi-media cultural heritage collection.
The distinct result is a web application that was initiated by the community and categorised into three groups, human beings, livestock, and forests.
This application features audio narratives in the Otjiherero language.
The OvaHimba community curated a collection of photos, audio recordings, and videos that were gathered by both researchers and communities over the course of a decade of collaborative projects. This project emerged as a result of the work of a master's student.
The Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Innovation, and Partnership at NUST, Dr. Colin Stanley, said, "For this project, we conducted seven focused community-based design workshops, some in the difficult times of COVID-19 in 2021. Starting with mixed videos and photos collected by Mr. Uariaike Mbinge since 2013 and snippets of text from Wikipedia and newspapers and projected to the ovaHimba communities for validation."
Many digital artefacts have been amassed over the years, depicting the intricate Ovahimba culture.
Nevertheless, a substantial portion of these artefacts lack validation from the ovaHimba communities themselves.
Consequently, the omission of their insights has led to an imprecise portrayal of their cultural heritage.
"They made several visits to our communities, and they initially asked us about our ideas and opinions. After engagement, they taught us how to record using modern technology," said OvaHimba community member Kaupamuka Mbendura.
In 2020, the Indigenous Knowledge Research Cluster submitted a grant application for N$140 to the Carl Schlettwein Stiftung foundation.
The purpose of the grant was to support a project titled "A Co-Created Digitalization of Cultural Heritage with the OvaHimba People," which ultimately led to the development of the web application.
Additionally, the project received financial backing from MTC and the National Commission for Research, Science, and Technology.