Closing the Distance

Abstract

This paper describes a participatory process involving a story team consisting of two community Elders, storyteller ≠ Oma /Kunta, traditional medicine man and educator !Amace N!aici, and translator Simon Kapembe from a San, Ju/’hoansi speaking community in North-Eastern Namibia, working together with researchers and Northern European students who prototyped a VR experience reflecting elements of the community’s intangible heritage of starlore and indigenous cosmology. Aiming to support the sharing and experiential understanding of starlore, this Work-in-Progress paper presents initial insights into the co-design process, outlines the development of the technical prototype, and shares the first findings and experiences from returning the VR prototype to the story team in the community.