- Through Africa Digital Heritage, Maina works with museums, archives and communities to document African histories through innovative technology.
- The award ceremony for the prestigious Dan David Prize is scheduled for May.
Chao Maina is the latest millionaire in town after she was named among the winners of the prestigious Dan David Prize.
The award comes with $300,000 (Sh38 million) for each winner to advance their work.
Maina, who is among the nine emerging scholars of history from around the globe, was announced on Tuesday.
Tel Aviv University administers the award.
Dust in ancient dental plaque, interfaith rifts after the Holocaust, and white women’s complicity in slave ownership in American history are among the winning research topics.
Adam Clulow from the University of Texas at Austin was named among the winners for using virtual reality and video games to make Cambodian history accessible to young people.
Maina from Kenya was named for using technology to preserve African artefacts.
Other winners included Saheed Aderinto from Florida International University, Ana Antic from the University of Copenhagen, Karma Ben Johanan from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Elise Burton from the University of Toronto, Krista Goff from the University of Miami, Stephanie Jones-Rogers from the University of California Berkeley, Anita Radini from the University College, Dublin.
Maina, according to her social media pages, names herself as a ‘time traveller, nomad working at the intersection of technology and heritage.
She is also the founder of Africa Digital Heritage where she works between software and storytelling.
Through Africa Digital Heritage, Maina works with museums, archives and communities to document African histories through innovative technology.
The award ceremony for the prestigious Dan David Prize is scheduled for May.
Following the win, the Dan David Prize, one of the largest history prizes in the world said: “Congratulations to @ChaoTayiana Maina, founder of @AfricaDHeritage, for winning the #2023DanDavidPrize for her work as a “pioneering public historian who demonstrates remarkable leadership and creates digital spaces that expand our knowledge of African heritage and culture.”
According to Institute for digital heritage, Maina also Headstrong Historian, is a Kenyan digital heritage specialist and digital humanities scholar working at the intersection of culture and technology.
“Her work primarily focuses on the application of technology in the preservation, engagement and dissemination of African heritage,” part of the website says.
Maina, according to the website is the founder of African Digital Heritage, a co-founder of the Museum of British Colonialism and a co-founder of the Open Restitution Africa project.
The website says the online activities are seeking to encourage a more critical, holistic and knowledge-based approach to the design and implementation of digital solutions within African cultural heritage.
Some of her work is reported to have been featured in international newspapers such as Reuters, BBC news, BBC Arts, NTV, KBC and 3Sat.
According to the Institute for digital heritage website, Maina holds an MSc in International Heritage Visualisation and a BSc in Mathematics and Computer Science.
She is credited to have researched on the possibilities of embedding intangible histories in 3D digital environments.
Maina is said to be a recipient of the Google Anita Borg scholarship for women in technology.