Chao-Tayiana-Maina
Kenyan historian and digital explorer Chao Tiyana Maina will be taking home Sh38 Million after winning the prestigious Dan David Prize. The digital heritage specialist was recognized for her efforts in preserving African artifacts. The prize recognizes historians for “changing our understanding of the past.”
Dan David prize board member Aviad Kleinberg says” A culture that does not understand its past is like an individual with acute amnesia”
Dan David Prize is the world’s largest history prize that celebrates next-generation outstanding curators, digital humanists archaeologists, and historians. The award recognizes historians for “changing our understanding of the past.” According to Dan David Prize board member Aviad Kleinberg, “A culture that does not understand its past is like an individual with acute amnesia,”
Chao who is a specialist in digital heritage uses her technology to uncover hidden historical narratives allowing communities to access them and engage actively with their cultural heritage.
She has been passionate about History from a tender age and considers herself a historian by birth and a digital explorer by profession.
Chao pursued a BSC in Mathematics and Computer Science from JKUAT and an MSC in the International Heritage Visualization program from The Glasgow School of art.
Notable projects
Between 2012 and 2016 the digital explorer started the Save the Railway project. She documented the history of Kenya’s disappearing railway infrastructure bringing together photographs, stories, and 3D images in a bid to preserve the history of the railway. She co-founded the African Digital Heritage and Museum of British Colonialism. African Digital Heritage encourages African cultural institutions to adopt new technology.
Other recognitions
Chao was awarded the Google Anita Borg scholarship for women in technology and the Governor’s International Postgraduate scholarship (Glasgow School of Art). Chao is a recipient of the Google Anita Borg scholarship for women in technology.
