The Country Office of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Bhutan granted its annual mini-grant awards an alumni of the Japan Alumni Association of Bhutan (JAAB) on 22 July, 2024. The project titled ‘Immersive Digital Museum Experience’ for The Royal Heritage Museum, Trongsa Taadzong will offer visitors (interact with five sense) a detailed look into various selected objects through digital medium.
With the grant of Nu 0.250 million, this project will realize Bhutan government’s objective of ‘Digital Drukyul’, such as providing fund for digital experience in the Royal Heritage Museum, Trongsa. The amount is granted for the procurement of LED screen, smart TV and tablets. The duration of the project is six months initially which will be implemented during 3 temporary exhibitions.
The Royal Heritage Museum has 11 permanent gallery and 3 temporary exhibition gallery spaces. In permanent exhibition galleries, all the objects are sacred and very expensive. Therefore, visitors are not allowed to touch and feel the objects. Most of the objects are in the showcases.
The mini-grant recipient, Sangay Tashi, deputy curator of Trongsa Royal Heritage Museum said that the target group of his project will be museum staff, students and the visitors.
Activities includes providing digital experience to the visitors (local visitors), participant- (10 museum staffs and three caretaker monks of museum lhalhang) in August.
The 65inchesLED screens and three tablets will be installed in temporary galleries and I tablet will be installed at the entrance permanent exhibition.
The deputy curator said that the museum and galleries all over the world have been hit hardest since the onset of the corona virus pandemic. Therefore, he said that there is need for stepping into the traffic of digital road has become necessary for the museums.
Taking the note of recent years, the world has witnessed a significant shift towards digital experience especially in the realm of museum and cultural institutions. With the advancement of technology, Sangay Tashi said there is growing demand for immersive digital experience that can engage and educate visitors with different innovative ways.
This proposal aims to create an immersive digital museum experience that will revolutionize the way visitors interact with art and history the museum.
This project aims to attract a wider audience of younger generations and tech-savy individuals to the
museum. It will provide visitors with a unique and engaging digital experience that enhances their understanding and appreciation of art, culture and history.
While the Royal government of Bhutan had been trying to digitalize all the public services and means of doing businesses, due to budget constraints, it has been going slow and in selective areas. Therefore, this project will facilitate government policy in achieving a target that could not be achieved till now.
Sangay Tashi said that since his training was on the museums and community development while studying in Japan, this project will help to bring community closer to the museum as today’s youth or ‘generation z’ are overtaken by all sort technological advancement. Thereby, cultural heritage or traditions in present plate from is not so interesting for ‘generation 2’. This project will bring technology, cultural heritage, art, history and youth in one medium to foster continuity in preserving and promoting Bhutan unique cultural heritage, traditional art and important history.
Besides fostering Bhutan-Japan relationship, the Chief Representative (CR) of JICA Bhutan Office, Tomoyuki Yamada, said that the mini-grant award is a networking activity among the ex-participants of JICA training programs. “This ‘Immersive Digital Museum Experience’ will contribute to Trongsa Royal Heritage Museum and enhance knowledge of history,” the CR said.
The general secretary of JAAB, Pema Gyalpo said that a mini-grant scheme support ex-participants of JICA training program and long-term studies MEXT and JDS scholarship programs in Japan. The scheme also aims to support participants and scholars to realize their activities in contributing to the socio-economic development of Bhutan with the knowledge and experiences gained through the JICA training programs.
By Sangay Rabten, Thimphu
