What this project is really about
When was the last time you heard a language, song, or celebrated a festival or craft that only one person in your community still remembers? Most importantly, what happens when that knowledge is never written down, recorded, or passed on? Does it only slowly disappear or does it take with it a part of our identity and collective wisdom? In this project, you will identify a cultural practice within your community that is at risk of disappearing and build a digital heritage archive that reflects the voices and values of the community. You will step into the role of researchers, listeners, and storytellers to understand and explore what ethical cultural preservation looks like in a digital world and how your actions can help sustain and revive living heritage. The Problem Statement: How might we use digital technology and community engagement to document, preserve, and revive a dying or low-visibility cultural tradition in our region before it disappears completely? What You’ll Build: • Student Deliverable What’s Inside? • The Conceptual Paper You’ll document how you went from identifying a fading cultural practice to designing a structured digital archive. Why This Matters This isn’t just about creating a digital archive; it’s about learning how to work with living heritage responsibly. You’ll be practicing: • Ethnographic Research: Learning how to listen, observe, and document cultural practices through interviews, oral histories, and field notes. • Digital Storytelling: Using multimedia tools to organize, present, and archive stories, rituals, craft, and knowledge in meaningful ways. • Cultural Advocacy: Understanding how documentation can support awareness, respect, and revival rather than extraction or exploitation. • Sustainable Thinking: Designing ways for traditions to be passed on and updated over time, not just stored and forgotten. Pro Tip: Choose a cultural practice you can truly understand and engage with. If you can explain why it matters, you’re on the right track. Archive it with care, accuracy, and respect.
What you'll walk away knowing how to do
This project isn't about memorising facts. It's about building capabilities that transfer — to your next project, your next class, and beyond.
Learn from someone who does this for a living
You're not learning from a textbook. You're learning from a practitioner.
Anita R Ratnam
Anita R Ratnam brings real-world expertise and professional depth to this project, guiding students through every phase with insight that goes beyond the classroom.
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