Nguyen Dynasty treasures tell their own stories through technology

On the morning of December 18, the Hue Monuments Conservation Center and related units launched the project "Emperor's Archaeology".

This is a unique toy collection project through the combination of Hue's cultural heritage with the "blind box" trend, which has been attracting the attention of young people recently.

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Nguyen Dynasty treasures in the Imperial Capital Archaeological Project. Photo: Le My

Inspired by the symbolic treasures of the Nguyen Dynasty such as the Great Bell of Thien Mu Pagoda, Khau Ha, Cao Dinh and the Nguyen Dynasty's Throne; The Imperial Capital Archaeological Record will have two versions: a specially designed archaeological experience version, with treasures encased in plaster and accompanied by archaeological simulation tools, creating opportunities for participants to explore and learn about the artifacts like a real archaeologist.

Meanwhile, the popular version with regular packaging becomes a meaningful gift for friends, relatives, or sent by post .

Mr. Huy Nguyen, co-founder of Phygital Labs, said that the Imperial Capital Archaeological Archives is a pioneering project in combining technology and cultural heritage, opening a model of exploiting heritage copyright to develop the cultural industry, attracting the attention of young people and the community that loves history and culture.

Accordingly, the derivative versions of the Nguyen Dynasty treasures above are applied with Nomion identification technology with NFC chip attached inside; when customers own them, they will use their smartphone to "touch" and discover details, images, historical and cultural stories of each treasure... Notably, the version that visitors own will be unique, with copyright authentication from the Hue Monuments Conservation Center.

Applying technology to develop the cultural industry

According to Mr. Huy Nguyen, co-founder of Phygital Labs, in countries around the world such as Japan and the US, the cultural industry has a revenue of billions of dollars, but in Vietnam everything is still very new.

Therefore, copyright is considered the backbone for the development of the cultural industry and for the cultural industry to develop, it is necessary to find a "touch point", which in this case is the application of technology.

Cultural heritages, when identified using technology, will be preserved in digital space and promoted through digital exhibitions so that people can directly explore them.

In addition, copyright identification will create derivative versions of antiques (F1), which can be sold directly to tourists or put on trading floors...

With this method, cultural products will be distributed all over the world and the owner will know about Vietnamese culture with just a light touch.

However, to do this, according to Mr. Huy Nguyen, is not simple; Phygital Labs has knocked on many doors with the desire to bring its technology to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage, but has encountered many difficulties in terms of mechanism.

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According to experts, applying technology will bring Vietnamese culture around the world. Photo: Le My

As a pioneer in applying this technology, Mr. Vo Quang Huy, Deputy Chief of Office of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, also said that there must be determination from the leader.

With the goal of implementing digital transformation to develop the cultural industry and promote heritage to the world, along with the determination of the leader, believing in young startups with a passion for applying technology to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage, especially new technologies following world trends; Hue Monuments Conservation Center has boldly cooperated in long-term investment with Phigytal Labs, to develop together.

Mr. Nguyen Long, General Secretary of the Vietnam Computer Association, also shared that, similar to the time when the Computer Association spread computerization 30-40 years ago, in order for units to boldly apply technology to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage, the technology factor must play an important role. Technology must create trust and bring efficiency when deployed to convince everyone to participate.

Mr. Nguyen Khanh Duong, founder of Comicola Company, a partner of the Imperial Capital Archaeological Project, said that developing the cultural industry is not a simple matter. It requires the cooperation of many people and how to make them realize that there is sustainability.

A representative from Comicola cited that in Korea, at the beginning, there were only 1 to 2 businesses participating in this field, typically CJ, and now they have a world-famous cultural industry.

Therefore, Mr. Nguyen Khanh Duong hopes that more businesses in Vietnam will participate in this industry, when the market is still open and there is no concern about competition.