Towards Inclusive Digital Museum Innovation

迈向包容性数字博物馆创新是一个跨学科的研究网络，主要在英国和韩国之间探索艺术和遗产组织数字化转型的包容性方法。2019冠状病毒病大流行在许多方面影响了我们的生活，包括我们如何学习新事物以及我们如何选择度过闲暇时间。数字休闲，就像数字游戏一样，在社交距离时期多样化并吸引了更多的玩家，有利于他们的心理健康和福祉（Barr & Copeland-Stewart 2021）。在过去的三十年里，博物馆大大扩展了面向公众的数字节目，进一步加快了吸引远程观众的数字方法。在大流行后的社会，数字甚至已经成为我们休闲的默认工具。该项目将英国UCL IoA世界领先的学术博物馆研究与韩国KAIST GSCT在数字领域和游戏研究方面的杰出优势联系起来，为博物馆专业人士提供了一个独特的平台，让他们反思数字资源的分布，交流博物馆领域当前数字实践的知识和经验，并审查他们的数字战略和发展计划，以促进社会的进一步公平、多样性和包容性（EDI）。尽管新兴的数字技术（如人工智能、机器学习、虚拟现实/增强现实、机器人）为博物馆创造了令人兴奋的机会，但不可否认的是，博物馆和技术都不是中立的。我们已经注意到，越来越多的社会意识到博物馆的历史和文化偏见，以及数字技术和数字产业中的技术和人为偏见。我们社会中的某些群体已经被数字创新抛在了后面。数字不平等在全世界都是一个值得关注的问题。因此，在讨论博物馆的数字化转型和制定新的数字化举措时，绝不能忽视数字伦理。数字包容不是在数字开发过程的最后才检查的东西，它应该从最初的规划阶段开始就成为该过程的一个组成部分。否则，数字方法只会放大博物馆固有的偏见，同时使社会中代表性不足的群体（例如残疾人和被边缘化的种族和文化背景的人）永远被排斥在外。这个项目为博物馆提供了机会，让他们审视自己的数字化举措，并讨论以数字化增强方式实施包容性的实际行动。在18个月的时间里，博物馆专业人士、学者、活动家和社会企业将加入网络，参加一系列主题研讨会，探讨科技、文化与道德、数字鸿沟和包容性科技三大主题。网上公众参与活动，包括非正式会谈，将为不同的利益攸关方提供更多机会，参与富有成果的讨论。在伦敦举行的最后一场面向公众的国际会议将分享数字博物馆创新方面积累的知识和实例。为该项目建立的网站将用于形成一个关于包容性数字博物馆创新的实践社区（Wenger, 1998），促进知识交流，这是UCL IoA和KAIST GSCT之间联合研究计划发展的基础。该项目利用两国在数字创新和文化创意产业方面的优势，不仅为确定和发展数字不平等和数字时代博物馆的社会责任的主题和议题做出学术贡献，而且为博物馆和其他收藏机构做出实际贡献。

Towards Inclusive Digital Museum Innovation is a cross-disciplinary research network primarily between the UK and South Korea exploring inclusive approaches to the digital transformation of arts and heritage organisations. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our lives in many ways, including how we learn about new things and how we choose to spend our leisure time. Digital leisure, like digital games, has diversified and attracted more players during times of social distancing, with benefits for their mental health and well-being (Barr & Copeland-Stewart 2021). Museums that have vastly expanded digital programmes for the public over the last three decades have further accelerated digital approaches to engaging remote audiences. In a post-pandemic society, digital has become the default even for our leisure. This project connecting the UK's world-leading academic museum studies at UCL IoA and South Korea's outstanding strengths in the digital sector and game studies at KAIST GSCT, offers a unique platform for museum professionals to reflect on the distribution of digital resources, exchange knowledge and experiences of current digital practices in the museum sector, and review their digital strategies and development plans to contribute to further equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in society. Although emerging digital technologies (e.g. AI, ML, VR/AR, robotics) have created exciting opportunities for museums, it is undeniable that neither museums nor technologies are neutral. We have already noticed the increasing social awareness of historical and cultural biases in museums, as well as of the technological and human biases in digital technologies and the digital industry. Certain groups of people in our society have been left behind by digital innovation. Digital inequality is a valid concern across the world. Digital ethics must not, therefore, be overlooked when discussing digital transformations of museums and developing new digital initiatives. Digital inclusion is not something to check at the end of the digital development process, it should be an integral part of that process from the initial planning stages on. Otherwise, digital methods will only amplify the inherent biases of museums while perpetuating the exclusion of underrepresented groups in society, for example, people with disabilities and people with marginalised ethnic and cultural backgrounds. This project provides opportunities for museums to look at their digital initiatives and discuss practical actions to take to implement inclusion in digitally enhanced ways. Over 18 months, museum professionals, academics, activists, and social enterprises will join the network for a series of thematic workshops exploring the three key themes, namely Technology, Culture & Ethics, the Digital Divide, and Inclusive Technology. Public engagement events online, including casual talks will provide further opportunities for different stakeholders to take part in fruitful discussions. A final international conference in London open to the wider public will share the accumulated knowledge and examples of digital museum innovation. A website built for the project will be used to form a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) regarding inclusive digital museum innovation, facilitating the knowledge exchange that is the foundation for the development of a joint research proposal between UCL IoA and KAIST GSCT. This project takes advantage of the two countries' strengths in digital innovation and their cultural and creative industries to make not only an academic contribution to the identification and development of themes and topics around digital inequality and the social responsibility of museums in the digital age, but also practical contributions to museums and other collecting institutions.