Credit: Dreamstime
NTT Data has built a digital archive system for the ASEAN Cultural Heritage Digital Archive (ACHDA) project, working with the ASEAN Secretariat to digitise historical cultural heritage in the region.
Upon completion of phase first of the roll-out, the archive has so far digitised 160 cultural assets from Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Publicly available online from 27 February, the system supports images, audio recordings and video data which are available on other NTT Data digital archive systems, in addition to handling three-dimensional models of physical objects.
The second phase of the project - expected to begin during fiscal 2020 - will focus on Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos, before expanding to include all ASEAN member states in the future.
“I am truly honoured that NTT Data’s information technologies can contribute to the preservation and sharing of ASEAN’s precious cultural heritage through the ACHDA Project,” said Katsuichi Sonoda, senior vice president of NTT Data. “It is my sincere hope that the value of this initiative will be widely known throughout ASEAN, and that by conveying the precious cultural assets of the present to future generations, new culture will be fostered.”
The project is being rolled out through financial support from the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), established in 2006 with the contribution from the Japanese government.
Previous digital archiving projects focused on capturing image, audio and video data of valuable objects such as documents, with this approach now allowing for the digitisation of 3D objects, including shape, colour and texture data.
According to Sonoda, this has been achieved by expanding the capabilities of digital archiving solution AMLAD -a digital archive service otherwise known as Advanced Museum Library Archives Deposit - to prevent cultural heritage assets from being lost due to disasters, accidents and ageing.
“The ACHDA project is an important step in ASEAN's pursuit towards enhancing the public's understanding and appreciation of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the region,” added Kung Phoak, deputy secretary general of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.
“I hope ASEAN citizens using the website will better appreciate the shared cultural heritage and instil in them a greater regional sense of belonging as we work towards fostering ASEAN identity.”
