Phengchanh Phengmuang and Lee Yongshin display signed Memorandums of Understanding on the new project. - VT
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism in Laos and the Asian Cultural Centre of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea are partnering to develop digital resources and capacity building in the field of culture.
To this end, a Memorandum of Understanding on Developing Digital Cultural Resources Management System and Capacity-building for Cultural Contents Creation in Laos was signed in Vientiane on Wednesday (Sept 7).
The project will run from 2022 to 2025 and is being funded by South Korea with 3 billion won through Official Development Assistance. It will be spearheaded by the Asian Cultural Centre in South Korea.
The initiative aims to help the citizens of Laos and South Korea to better understand each other’s cultures and is seen as very important in enabling young people in Laos to have a deeper appreciation of their cultural traditions.
The MOU was signed by the Director General of the Planning and international Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Phengchanh Phengmuang, and Acting President of the Asian Cultural Centre, Lee Yongshin.
The signing was witnessed by Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Phosy Keomanivong and other officials from the two sides.
The Lao government is keen to raise people’s awareness of the country’s traditional culture and to preserve cultural history in effective and accessible ways.
The main aim of the project is to modernise the way in which aspects of Lao culture are preserved and made accessible to members of the public through the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.
Certain records will be digitalised, including the content of palm-leaf manuscripts and other important historical records.
Digitalisation will enable library and museum staff to learn new methods of record-keeping and access to information through training and the use of relevant equipment.
The initiative will create a new digital information system, and will bring about changes to the way in which libraries and museums operate by creating and providing easier access to information.
