Tech giant, Google has launched a project to digitize and showcase collections from the National Museums of Kenya (NMK).
Under the project dubbed “Utamaduni Wetu: Meet the People of Kenya”, Google will promote Kenya’s cultural heritage through telling stories of 28 communities.
According to reports, Sports, Culture and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed noted that the project is part of the government’s plan to digitize Kenya’s key museums.
“This will enable audiences to explore the country’s cultural heritage, which then provides us with a connection to forgotten social values, beliefs and customs,” said Ms Mohamed, who spoke during the launch of the project in Nairobi.
Amina indicated that the exercise will encourage real-life visits to Kenya’s museums, monuments, and heritage sites.
“With the museums of Kenya having over 10 million specimens, this is the best way for us to showcase our wide range of samples around the country,” said NMK director-general Mzalendo Kibunja.
Charles Murito, the Google Kenya director said supporting the project underlined the company’s commitment to preserving and promoting Kenya’s culture.
Google said the online exhibition is Google Arts and Culture’s most ambitious project in Africa to date and the result of a one-year large-scale-digitisation exercise. It gives users access to high-resolution images of works housed in its project partners’ museums.
Kenyans can use the Google Arts & Culture app to view the treasured exhibits on the platform.
