#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The team of Zhivoye (eng. Alive), an autonomous non-profit organization for the support and implementation of cultural and technological initiatives, has created a learning VR application called the Nenets Dictionary of a Nomad. The idea of developing a digital platform that introduces the Nenets language and culture was supported in the World of New Opportunities social project grant competition organized by the Nornickel company.
Over the course of a year, the authors of the project – director Andrey Nosov and media artist Anna Tolkacheva – created a virtual platform: the team went on expeditions to the tundra to shoot material, recorded various dialects of the Nenets language.
According to Andrey Nosov, with the help of virtual reality glasses, everyone can get acquainted with the basics of the Nenets language, interacting with objects of Nenets life and elements of the natural landscape.
Materials for the application, a video recording of the Nenets reindeer herders life and their surrounding nature, were made using 360-degree video filming technology. The application also created digital 3D copies of household items and elements of the natural environment, as well as audio recordings of their Nenets names.
“With the help of glasses, we can see the virtual environment, the tundra, see how the life of the Nenets works. Interacting with household items, a person hears their names in the Nenets language. Video recordings in 360-degree format are also voiced in the Nenets language with subtitles”, director Andrey Nosov explained.
The project team will donate VR glasses with an application to the Museum of Norilsk, so that every Norilsk citizen can get acquainted with the life of the Nenets.
We also reported that representatives of indigenous ethnic groups will study at MGIMO with the Nornickel’s support, and online training for Taimyr students has begun at Moscow State University.
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Text: Ekaterina Elkanova, Photo: Denis Kozhevnikov
