Kenyan Woman Pockets Ksh 38.1M in Global Prize

Chao Tayiana Maina, a public historian and founder of African Digital Heritage posing for a photo in January 2021

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Chao Tayiana Maina

Tayiana is a Kenyan historian and digital humanities scholar working at the intersection of culture and technology. Her work primarily focuses on the application of technology in preserving, engaging, and disseminating African heritage. 

She is the founder of African Digital Heritage, the Museum of British Colonialism, and the Open Restitution Africa Project.

“I am a Kenyan digital heritage specialist and digital humanities scholar,” she described herself on her LinkedIn profile.

Tayiana holds a master’s degree in International Heritage Visualization, Digital Heritage from the Glasgow School of Art, a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), a diploma and certificate in Database Administration and Computer Programming respectively.

Her objective is to enable African people from various walks of life to engage with their cultural heritage actively. 

Meanwhile, African Digital Heritage is a non-profit organisation that seeks to encourage a more critical and holistic approach to designing and implementing digital solutions within African cultural heritage.

Other winners in the competition were Saheed Aderinto, Ana Antic, Karm Ben Johanan, Elise Burton, Adam Clulow, Krista Burton, Stephanie Jones Rogers, and Anita Radini. 

The Dan David Prize is the largest history in the world and celebrates the next generation of outstanding historians, archaeologists, curators, and digital humanists.