“I know that everything essential and great originated from the fact that the human being had a homeland and was rooted in tradition,” said Martin Heidegger. A sense of belonging and understanding one’s history, customs, and cultural background can provide a strong foundation for creativity, innovation, and personal growth. Learning intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is vital for preserving cultural identity, fostering creativity, and promoting social cohesion. It helps maintain a sense of continuity and connection to our collective past while enriching our present and future experiences. This research project looks into how Cutting-edge technologies like Extended-Reality (XR) and Large Language Models (LLMs) as conversational agents can significantly safeguard ICH for present and future generations. By harnessing these technologies, the project seeks to foster cross-cultural understanding, preserve, document, and disseminate the knowledge and skills that define cultural identities, and ensure that our shared cultural legacy continues to thrive and inspire future generations through accessible and engaging learning experiences.

Do you have questions? Write me an e-mail: carrie.lau@tum.de (Carrie Lau)

Project in Progress:

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Further Readings:

• Zhang, L., Wang, Y., Tang, Z., Liu, X., & Zhang, M. (2023). A Virtual Experience System of Bamboo Weaving for Sustainable Research on Intangible Cultural Heritage Based on VR Technology. Sustainability, 15(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043134
• Burridge, T., & Seabi, M. (2022, April 21). Netflix & UNESCO announce the winners of the ‘African folktales, reimagined’ short film competition. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/netflix-unesco-announce-winners-african-folktales-reimagined-short-film-competition 
• Yao, J., & Hu, X. (2020). A Study on the Current Situation of Doumu Pottery Making Technique and the Path of Using VR Technique to Pass on its Technique. 2020 International Conference on Innovation Design and Digital Technology (ICIDDT), 459–465. doi.org/10.1109/ICIDDT52279.2020.00092