Sustainable cultural development

For many years, discussions about digital transformation have focused mainly on productivity, efficiency, and economic growth. Yet, through the practical journey of the IDAP – Inclusive Digital Adoption Project, KisStartup has discovered a deeper dimension: digital transformation not only reshapes economies but also preserves and enriches culture – the very soul of communities.

In the highland villages of Lào Cai and Sơn La, technology has not arrived as a foreign wave but has gradually become a bridge that brings local identity to the world. It helps revive cultural heritage in new forms — digitized, shared, and passed on to younger generations.

When Technology Becomes the Storyteller of Identity

Through IDAP’s training programs, many artisans, teachers, and ethnic minority youth have learned how to record, store, and present their cultural heritage using digital tools. Small classes on video production, product photography, and content design have become creative spaces where locals learn to “tell their cultural stories” in their own voice.

In Sơn La, lecturer Lò Thị Ngọc Diệp and her students at Tây Bắc University have worked together to digitize Thai cultural traditions — from performances to instructional videos shared on social media.

Such efforts are turning YouTube into an open classroom where cultural values transform into creative products and services — music classes, cultural tours, ethnic embroidery workshops, and traditional handicraft lessons.

In Lào Cai, Dr. Đặng Thị Oanh and her team of lecturers and students are documenting and promoting the spiritual traditions of the Dao people. Meanwhile, Ms. Vàng Thị Mai has been collecting ancient then songs of the Tày in Bản Liền, inspiring others to join her efforts. Her small class has evolved into a community-run hub, where locals teach, learn, and share their traditions online through YouTube and Facebook.

Digital Technology – The Companion of Heritage

Around the world, technology has become humanity’s extended memory, helping to preserve and revive what once seemed lost.

In Guatemala, Duolingo added the K’iche’ language of the Maya people, reviving a tongue once on the brink of extinction. In Bolivia, the OEI App preserves five indigenous languages with pronunciation guides and e-dictionaries, allowing mountain children to reconnect with their mother tongues.

In Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, technologies such as VR360, 3D scanning, and virtual reality are used to recreate festivals, stilt houses, pottery, and ancient dances — allowing global audiences to walk through indigenous spaces from across the world.

Some projects even experiment with blockchain to protect community intellectual property — from textile patterns and indigo-dyeing recipes to traditional medicines — ensuring that traditional knowledge is shared fairly and safeguarded from commercial exploitation.

Emerging technologies like AI, virtual reality, cloud storage, digital linguistics, and blockchain are helping cultural heritage to live again in interactive, accessible forms. Yet, these tools only gain true meaning when local communities themselves are the storytellers.

Lessons from IDAP: When Communities Lead the Digital Journey

Experiences from Lào Cai and Sơn La show that when digital transformation begins with culture, it creates stronger and more lasting connections than any technical project could.

In Bản Liền, the Tày community not only digitized the production process of ancient tea but also used short videos to tell its history — sharing traditions of leaf-picking, tea-making, and festive tea ceremonies. Their fanpage “Hương Trà Bản Liền” (The Fragrance of Bản Liền Tea) has become more than an online shop — it’s a living cultural classroom.

In Bản Lùn, the Thai community organized folk song classes with livestreams, where children learned to sing, film, and edit videos, adding captions and descriptions. The entire village joined in — each person playing a role — creating a community-built digital archive of ethnic music.

IDAP calls this approach “community-led digital transformation” — where technology is localized and owned by the people, not imposed from outside. This allows culture to evolve naturally, while also generating new economic value without losing authenticity.

Preserve to Develop – Develop to Spread

Technology can preserve, but its ultimate purpose is to bring culture back into modern life.

Music lessons, cultural tours, storytelling videos, and handcrafted souvenirs are ways of transforming heritage into tangible value. Each song, dance, and weaving pattern no longer sits behind glass or in research books but is digitized, shared, and becomes a source of inspiration for new generations.

When a student in Sơn La can teach the tính lute on TikTok, or an artisan in Bản Khảo hosts an online indigo-dyeing class, culture has truly entered the digital age — in the most human, patient, and creative Vietnamese way.                            

Challenges and Vision

Digital transformation in culture poses significant challenges: balancing preservation with commercialization, openness with protection of traditional knowledge. Without proper guidance, technology can distort or exploit heritage. Therefore, the core principle must be that ownership of knowledge and content belongs to the indigenous community.

KisStartup and IDAP’s partners aim for a model of sustainable cultural development, where technology plays a supportive role — helping communities to tell their own stories, share them widely, and create their own value.

The Road Ahead

From small filming classes in Sơn La to cultural tourism products in Lào Cai, digital transformation is rekindling the creative flame within each community.

When technology becomes a tool of culture, not its replacement, we can envision a future where national identity does not fade — but finds new life in the digital world.

“Digital transformation does not blur tradition – it gives tradition a new voice.”

And it is the young people, artisans, teachers, and small enterprises in the mountains — together with KisStartup — who are writing this next chapter: making culture more vibrant, more widespread, and more valuable in the digital era.

© Copyright KisStartup. Content developed under the IDAP Project – Inclusive Digital Adoption Program. Any reproduction, quotation, or reuse must cite KisStartup/IDAP as the source.