Digital Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Abstract

Cultural heritage reflects a society’s identity, hence should be protected and preserved for the future generation. Digital preservation is significant for cultural heritage since there are a lot of important knowledge and collections of manuscripts and artefacts which need to be preserved to ensure sustainability for future generations. However, there is still a lack in digital preservation methods for cultural heritage especially intangible cultural heritage. This paper discusses cultural heritage and results of a study on intangible cultural heritage preservation. An interview with five experts in intangible cultural heritage domain has been carried out.  Results show that level of awareness of preserving intangible cultural heritage is still low. In addition, the heritage practitioners - artisans and craftsmen keep the knowledge and skills in their memory as preservation method.  Thus the knowledge depend on individual practitioners since no documentation is made. Informants are also aware of the importance of digitalization of intangible cultural heritage knowledge for the preservation and safeguard.