ASEAN Digital Cultural Heritage Archive launched

At the end of February 2020, at the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, the ASEAN Secretariat opened the Digital Cultural Heritage ASEAN Archive (ACHDA).

The ASEAN Cultural Heritage Digital Archive (ACHDA) celebrates the rich and diverse cultural heritage of ASEAN, and showcases a veritable treasure trove of exemplary artefacts and history.

By sharing ASEAN’s beloved cultural treasures online, ACHDA hopes to raise greater awareness and appreciation of the shared ASEAN cultural heritage.

In the first phase, ACHDA introduced more than 160 digitized specimens of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, thereby allowing visitors to delve deeper into the many collections of museums, galleries and letters. The Institute adopts 3D models, valuable images, sound recordings and videos about the cultural heritage of the three countries mentioned above.

The second phase of the project is intended to digitize collections of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam before expanding to the remaining ASEAN countries.

Initiated in 2018, ACHDA is made possible under the auspices of the ASEAN Senior Officials for Culture and Arts (SOMCA) and is supported by the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).