The Digital Repository of Endangered and Affected Manuscripts in Southeast Asia (DREAMSEA)

Closure to Start Anew

The Digital Repository of Endangered and Affected Manuscripts in Southeast Asia (DREAMSEA)

Assessment and Perspectives

The Digital Repository of Endangered and Affected Manuscripts in Southeast Asia (DREAMSEA) is a program run since 2017 by the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) in collaboration with the Center of the Study of Islam and Society (PPIM) at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta. Supported by the Arcadia Fund, the program aims to preserve endangered manuscripts held and archived by individuals residing in Southeast Asia, where the humid climate, natural disasters and conflicts further endanger these privately-held manuscripts.

Over the past few years, DREAMSEA has been helping communities in Southeast Asia to preserve their manuscript collections by digitizing them, going directly into the field and photographing the manuscripts on site, where the owners keep and preserve their collections. After 7 years and over 8,000 digitized manuscripts, the program is about to enter its second phase. This event offers an overview of the lessons learned over these years with the manuscript owners, and also explains the changes it has brought about in our knowledge of the region's manuscript cultures, and outlines possible future avenues of research.