Co-creating digital representations of indigenous knowledge: an ovaHimba curated digital repository

We are concerned with misinterpretations and misrepresentations of indigenous knowledge and people in the digital media as created through othering. Therefore, we advocate for a community-based approach to the digitalisation of indigenous knowledge by indigenous people. In this paper, we present the development of an ovaHimba curated digital repository. The paper itself was co-created by the team consisting of community and academic researchers. Our work is framed in an adapted version of Afrocentricity, based on more than a decade of collaboration between the academic and community researchers. We share details of the different phases, such as the media collection, selection and structuring, as well as the implementation of the repository, architecture and interface. The system provides a platform for continuous digital self-representation of ovaHimba community members in a culturally meaningful manner, and to widely share their rich cultural heritage. Future activities will ensure sustainability, wider accessibility and continuous scaling of the repository.