KOTA SAMARAHAN: Cultural heritage should be seen as an asset which gives a distinctive identity of the communities to the region.
Chairman of the Brooke Trust Jason Brooke said this is in support of the long-term tourism development which offers economic opportunities for the communities as well.
Citing a case study on The Brooke Archive, a large-scale project the charity embarked on, he said the efforts included scanning and making over 92,000 records freely available via online in Sarawak and around the world.
“This is a major project for us where we make the most out of digital developments that were taking place to make such programmes accessible.
“In terms of sustainability, the relevance and enhancement of the information contained, we build a network of academic contributors who transcribe and submitting records and improve the data associated with each of those records.”
Brooke said this when delivering his keynote speech virtually during the 4th International Conference on Media and Society (iC-MAS2022) themed “Communicating Cultural Heritage: Inclusivity in Changing Landscapes” held at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), today (Dec 20).
On another case study which is The Brooke Museum in Kuching, he said the museum is used to tell visitors, especially the story of Sarawak’s history and something which could inspire more people.
“With the installation of the Brooke Gallery, it is an opportunity to bring visitors to the doors and to bring life into the building with more relevant history of the buildings itself.
“The museum is a way of bringing sustainability for the intangible heritage and this museum wouldn’t continue to exist without the grassroots support who see this museum as their own and that’s fundamentally what makes it sustainable,” he stressed.
Brooke, who is also the President of Sarawak Association said the charity, through community engagement, promotes activities relating to heritage to people of various level of ages.
“Through the museum education programme, we invite students from all around Sarawak to learn about the history and cultural heritage.
“We make it more relevant and lively to the young people today to get them to learn more about Sarawak’s history and heritage,” he said.
