Inclusive Digital Museum Innovation Conference

The Inclusive Digital Museum Innovation project team is happy to announce that the ‘Digital Museum Innovation’ conference will be held at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, on 5 July 2023. The Inclusive Digital Museum Innovation is a cross-disciplinary research network between the UCL Institute of Archaeology in the UK and KAIST Games and Life Lab in Republic of Korea. It aims to explore inclusive approaches to the digital transformation of collecting institutions.The conference will report as well as build on discussions from the three online workshops of the network which took place in 2022 on Inclusive Digital Innovation and Technology; the Digital Divide; and Technology, Culture and Ethics. The conference will bring professional practitioners and researchers together to exchange ideas and solutions to some of the emerging ideas around digital access, inclusion and innovation. 

Programme:

Wednesday 5 July

2.00 – 2.30 Registration & coffee/tea and refreshments

2.30 – 2.45 Welcome: Theano Moussouri, Inclusive Digital Museum Innovation project PI, UCL

2.45 – 2.55 Lightning talk 1: Digital museum innovation: the shift from assistive to inclusive tech – Rafie Cecilia, UCL

2.55 – 3.05 Discussion with Hannah Thompson, Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL)

3.05 – 3.15 Lightning talk 2: Playing Together: Creating Conversations in Parent-Emerging Adult Dyads Through Interactive Narrative Games – Sean Koh, KAIST Game & Life Lab

3.15 – 3.25 Lightning talk 3: Creating Inclusive and Meaningful Digital Museum Experiences: The Power of Understanding Visitor Life Context – Karam Eum, KAIST Game & Life Lab

3.25 – 3.35 Discussion with Hannah Thompson, RHUL

3.35 – 3.45 Lightning talk 4: Promoting an Inclusive Organisational Culture for Digital Museum Innovation – Juhee Park, KAIST & UCL

3.45 – 4.00 Discussion with Hannah Thompson

4.00-4.15 Tea/coffee break

4.15 – 5.05 Tech Petting Zoo: Raffaella Fryer-Moreira (UCL Multimedia Anthropology Lab), Albert Higgins (UCL Global Disability Innovation Hub), Karam Eum (KAIST Game & Life Lab), Sean Koh (KAIST Game & Life Lab), Hannah Platts (Royal Holloway University of London), Chenxing Zhao (UCL Institute of Archaeology), Amanda Ford Spora (Petrie Museum).

5.15 – 5.40 Reflections from Hannah Thompson, RHUL

5.40 – 6.00 Day Summary from Rebecca Mileham, Writer & Museum Consultant

6.00 – 8.00 Drinks reception

Abstracts:

Lightning talk 1: Digital museum innovation: the shift from assistive to inclusive tech - Dr Rafie Cecilia (UCL)

Technological approaches that claim to support cultural inclusion are developing rapidly, particularly three-dimensional and tactile objects, web applications and audio resources. While traditionally-defined ‘assistive’ technology facilitates the daily lives of people with disabilities, it does not promote inclusion. In this lightning talk, we will look at examples of digital innovation and mainstream technology that have embodied the notion of inclusive practice to create truly equitable experiences for all.

Lightning talk 2: Playing Together: Creating Conversations in Parent-Emerging Adult Dyads Through Interactive Narrative Games - Sean Koh (KAIST)

Museums play a vital role in providing access to knowledge to their communities but also offer families a unique opportunity to spend quality time together. In this lightning talk, we will explore how an interactive narrative game can enhance the museum experience for families, focusing on its potential to facilitate conversations and strengthen the bond between parents and emerging adults.

Lightning talk 3: Creating Inclusive and Meaningful Digital Museum Experiences: The Power of Understanding Visitor Life Context - Karam Eum (KAIST)

Museums' digital interactive exhibitions hold promise for providing inclusive social experiences for visitors, but creating meaningful experiences that have a lasting impact beyond museum walls necessitates a thorough understanding of visitors' needs and values. Drawing on a case study involving gameplay experiences of young players with cerebral palsy and their families, I present how an understanding of visitors’ life contexts can help us design a more inclusive social experiences in digital exhibitions.

Lightning talk 4: Promoting an Inclusive Organisational Culture for Digital Museum Innovation - Dr Juhee Park (KAIST & UCL)

Embedding the values of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in digital practices at museums is not an issue for individual museum practitioners. Rather, it is an organisational and societal concern. In this lightning talk, I will look at the challenges that museums have faced regarding digital EDI and how an inclusive organisational culture can bring positive changes in digital museum innovation from concepts and strategies to actions.

Speakers bios:

Prof. Hannah Thompson is Professor of French and Critical Disability Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London. Hannah has led several projects on access and inclusion for people with disabilities in the cultural sector and is currently working on creative audio description in museums, art galleries and theatres and the notion of “Blindness Gain”. She is the author of the popular blog Blind Spot that maps her experiences as a partially blind academic in a resolutely sighted world. Follow her on twitter @BlindSpotHannah. Hannah is also the Principal Investigator of The Sensational Museum, an AHRC-funded project that aims to transform access and inclusion within the museum sector by putting disability at the centre of museum practice and acknowledging the diversity and difference of all visitors.

Dr Rafie Cecilia is Associate Lecturer at UCL. Her research looks at the embodied experience of technology of young vision impaired museum visitors, and at accessible and sustainable digital solutions for academic publications.

Sean Koh is a prospective PhD student in Games and Life Lab at KAIST. He majored in game design and development and has experience working at the Strong Museum of Play as part of their exhibit design team.

Karam Eum is a PhD student in Games and Life Lab at KAIST. Her research explores the link between eudaimonic gameplay experiences and recovery experiences in players’ daily lives.

Dr Juhee Park is a Visiting Researcher in Museum Studies at UCL and Senior Researcher in the Augmented Reality Research Center at KAIST. Her research is specialised in the digital transformation of arts and heritage organisations.