@inproceedings{icomos2029,
       booktitle = {ICOMOS 19th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium "Heritage and Democracy"},
           title = {Digital technologies, the spirit of place and active citizenship at the Museum of Australian Democracy},
            year = {2018},
        keywords = {ARRAY(0x560c4b9abe30)},
             url = {http://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/2029/},
        abstract = {Australia has one of the world's leading democracies and our open society is the envy of many.
Across the world, however, democracy is under threat. Freedoms are being curtailed, regional conflicts
remain unresolved and populism continues to rise. Australia, too, is caught up in this tide, with research
showing that satisfaction and trust in Australian democracy is at its lowest level since 1996.
Situated at the heart of the national capital, Canberra, and located within the National Heritage listed Old
Parliament House, the Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD) is ideally positioned to address these
vital issues. More than 350, 000 people engage with MoAD's programs each year and it is an essential
element of civics and citizenship education for Australian school students.
Built in 1927 Old Parliament House was the home of Australian parliament until 1988. It witnessed
dramatic changes in democratic rights and responsibilities - the increasing empowerment of Australia's
Indigenous people, including the right to vote; the ratification of the Universal Declaration on Human
Rights; rights for women; disability discrimination legislation. Its heritage values speak to ideas of
equality, freedom, justice, representation.
The digital environment has the power to extend and enhance the visitor experience with heritage values,
not just in respect both to the processes of conservation and restoration, but in building active and
engaged communities. Interpretation is no longer a passive experience; visitors are demanding tailored
experiences, including the opportunity to comment, participate, and even co-curate.
Using a number of recent projects as case studies, this paper will share the ways in which MoAD is
approaching the intersection of cultural heritage and democracy using the digital environment. It explores
opportunities and challenges of the democratisation of knowledge making at a time when digital
technology is rewriting the rules of engagement between politicians, citizens and trusted cultural
institutions.},
          author = {Jans, Edwina and Karp, Daryl}
}