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CULTURAL HERITAGE THROUGH DIGITAL MEDIA

A SUT-SUTS Collaboration Research Project

Empowering rural indigenous community of Sarawak, Malaysia Borneo to share their knowledge and heritage through digital media. We invite you to learn more about how you can get involved in our Research Project today.

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Home: Welcome

GET TO KNOW US

Population movement and economic forces are rapidly displacing traditional practices and historically significant sites in rural Sarawak.

This project investigates whether mobile media technologies can assist in the maintenance of local and indigenous knowledge through sustainable cultural tourism enterprise and developing a mobile storytelling application that can be used to engage tourists in three rural communities.

Using mixed methods approach we are:
producing baseline of the social and cultural factors that influence technology adoption to inform the development of appropriate technologies,
developing and trial technologies for storytelling production and distribution,
determine the impact of digital media technologies, mobile storytelling and geolocation on local economies; be it formal or informal economies

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Home: About

RESEARCH TEAM

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PROFESSOR SANDRA GIFFORD

PhD, MPH, MA, BA (Hons)

Professor of Anthropology and Refugee Studies
Institute for Social Research
Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne
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Former founding director at the La Trobe Refugee Research Centre at La Trobe University. Her background is in medical anthropology and her research has addressed ethnicity, migration, settlement and health in Australia. Her current research focuses on settlement, wellbeing, policy and practice among recently arrived humanitarian migrants in Australia with a particular focus on young people. She has expertise in ethnographic longitudinal studies using a mix of methods from standardised surveys and in-depth interviewing to digital media, film and participatory art based methods.

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ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ELLIE RENNIE

PhD (QUT), BA, Hons (Melb)

Deputy Director
Institute for Social Research,
Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne.
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Expertise in the areas of indigenous media and digital inclusion. Her research areas include media policy and community communication, with a current focus on indigenous broadcasting and broadband in remote Australia. She was Chief Investigator of the recently completed ARC Linkage project Home Internet in Remote Indigenous Communities, working with three industry partners. She has published two books: Life of SYN: A Story of the Digital Generation (Monash University Press, 2011) and Community Media : A Global Introduction (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006). She is involved in a number of academic and community associations and is Vice President of the Community Broadcasting Foundation.

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DR. ROWAN WILKEN

PhD (Melbourne), BA (Hons) (Swinburne)

Senior Lecturer
Institute for Social Research
Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne
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Rowan Wilken is a Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications at Swinburne University. His interests include mobile and locative media; social and spatial theory; old and new media; theory and practice of everyday life; and domestic technology consumption.

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DR. CHRISTINE HORN

PhD(Swinburne), MA (UNIMAS), BA (Hons) (LMU)

Postdoctoral Researcher
Institute for Social Research
Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne
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Her background is in communication, media and graphic design. Has carried out research for her PhD in Sarawak’s indigenous communities between 2010 and 2013. She taught design and photography at Monash College and was a lecturer with the School of Computing and Design at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak.

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GREGORY WEE LIK HOO

MA (NU), BA (UWinnipeg)

Senior Lecturer (Design)
Faculty of Business and Design
Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak
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His research focuses on the search for a Malaysian cinema, and for a Malaysian visual identity in comics, animation and digital creative content. His cartoon illustrations and comics have been published locally. His most recent achievement includes the production of a 13-episode animated series for TVi (Astro Channel 180). Also the founder of the "Story of Kuching" on Facebook.

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RAINE MELISSA RIMAN

MEnvSc (UNIMAS), Bsc BldgSv (Hons), Dipl (UiTM)

Research Associate
Research Consultancy & Future Projects
Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus
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Previous experience includes fieldwork interpreter for University of Copenhagen-UNIMAS Joint Fieldwork SLUSE Program and a Community Communication Officer for a natural resource firm. Her background is in environmental science and heritage conservation.

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WILSON SUAI ANAK MOSES JANTAN

MCompSc (UPM), BCompSc (Hons) (KUTKM)

Lecturer in Multimedia Design
Faculty of Business and Design
Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak
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Started his academic career in Swinburne Sarawak in 2006, teaching Multimedia Design at Faculty of Business and Design. He has taught numerous subjects within the field of Multimedia Design in various levels and programs, among others, Interactive Design for Games and Web Applications, Interactive Design for Web and Technology, 2D Animation, Group Research Project, Individual Research Project as well as Multimedia Technology.

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AURELIA LIU MEI YING

BA (Hons) (Swinburne), Dipl (OneAcademy)

Higher Degree Researcher (HDR)
Faculty of Business and Design
Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak
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Aurelia Liu is a UI/UX designer and researcher with technical background and professional experience in the digital advertising industry. A technology enthusiast, she dabbles in game, website and mobile application designs. Currently, she is doing her Masters degree by research on interaction design for a collaborative platform to collect digital heritage stories.

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ADELINE LAONG LUSAT

BSc (Hons) (UMS), Dipl (UiTM)

Freelance Project Enumerator & Interpreter (Fieldwork Basis)

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CR. SIMPSON NJOCK LENJAU

MSc (Curtin), BA (Hons) (Swinburne)

Special thanks to our associate in Marudi Council, Miri, the Councillor of Ulu Baram for representing the Baram community.

Home: Meet the Team

CHECK US OUT IN THE MEDIA

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INDIGENOUS HERITAGE AND THE INTERNET (SWINBURNE WEBSITE)

April 16th, 2016

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OF FORGOTTEN FORTS, FACEBOOK AND NEWFOUND FRIENDS (THE SARAWAK TRIBUNE

August 21st, 2016

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PRESERVING CULTURE AND HERITAGE THROUGH DIGITAL MEDIA

October 5th, 2016

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AN ELECTRIFYING STORY OF LOW TECH POWER

October 19th, 2016

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THE PEOPLE WE MET

THE COMMUNITY

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Long Atun | Tinjar 
About this picture :
Christine Horn listening to the oldest Memaloh man in Long Atun speaking about his bejalai (migration) journey and experience moving from Kalimantan Borneo to Sarawak Borneo during his teenage years back in the 1940s. He then fell in love with his wife, a local Kenyah, and decided to settle down in Long Atun, a Sebup village in Tinjar. 
Photo
Copyright © 2016 Raine Melissa Riman  
All Rights Reserved

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Long Atun | Tinjar
About this picture :
Traditionally, Kenyah aristocrat women are tattooed with intricate tattoo patterns, done mostly on the lower arm, hands and legs. 65 years old Julia Lalong Nyala had hers when she was 20 years old and was tattooed by a Kejaman tattooist in Rumah Rasa, Batang Rajang for 8 consecutive days, when she followed her late father to visit her aunty who moved there.
Photo
Copyright © 2016 Raine Melissa Riman
All Rights Reserved

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Long Subeng | Tinjar 
About this picture :
The research team interviewed the oldest Kenyah couple during our quest in finding out more about the dying Adat Bungan of the Kenyah. He is shown his photograph (in Christine Horn's "Orang Ulu of Borneo" book) taken by the Sarawak Museum photographer back in 1956 during a Bungan ceremony in the old longhouse of Long Subeng, Tinjar. 
Photo
Copyright © 2016 Raine Melissa Riman 
All Rights Reserved

Bungan is a nativistic movement of a cult arising from the threat to Kenyah adat religion presented by Christianity. Thousands of Kenyah abandoned their adat religion (Dayung) to join the Bungan movement. It gives them the opportunity to rid themselves of the onerous burden of adat, omen restrictions and demands. This new movement shook the foundation of their traditional religious faith, due to the removal of sanctions which brought the Kenyah obedience to spirits (bali). Bungan Malan Peselong Luan is introduced by Juk Apoi, a Lepo’ Kenyah Uma Jalan in Apo Kayan. He first met the Goddess Bungan in his dream. Bungan also functioned to establish the concept of a single supreme deity – the goddess of female spirit of Bungan Malan.
(see Conley, Sarawak Museum Journal, Special Issue, 1974: p315-316)

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Tanjung Balipat/Belipat | Niah
About this picture :
The headman of the Penan Muslim village of Tanjung Balipat and his brother (who used to work with Tom and Barbara Harrisson during the Niah Cave excavation in the 1960s) .

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Long San | Kedaya Telang Usan
About this picture :
Bulan, 64, is harvesting the tepo plant (local name) for basket making. The tepo plant is an alternative to rattan and bemban (Donax canniformis) that became extinct in this area due to active logging activities. She also sings traditional Kenyah song.
Photo
Copyright © 2016 Christine Horn 
All Rights Reserved

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Long San | Kedaya Telang Usan
About this picture :
Edwin, is the owner of a local cafe, that he named, 2YC2 (Tuai Situ), which means "Come Here" in Kenyah. He prepares local Kenyah traditional food which he learned from his parents and grandparents. He is also a transporter and a contractor.

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