Preserving Heritage Through VR Tech
Virtual Museum Bangladesh at SAARC Workshop
- Virtual reality and 3D modeling digitize historical architectural heritage sites.
- Ahamed Jaman Sonjib represents Bangladesh at Colombo regional technical forum.
- Digital preservation archives major national landmarks including Shait Gumbad Mosque
Deploying virtual reality, photogrammetry, and 3D spatial modeling to safeguard national architectural monuments, 'Virtual Museum Bangladesh' is set to represent the country on an international stage.
The development was confirmed on Sunday, September 13. The three-day regional technical workshop, organized by the SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), will take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, focusing on digital technologies for cultural heritage preservation. Ahamed Jaman Sonjib, founder of Virtual Museum Bangladesh (VMB), will represent the country at the event titled 'SAARC Promoting Digital Technology for Preserving Cultural Heritage'.
The workshop runs from September 16 to 18 in Colombo in a hybrid format, allowing in-person and virtual participation. Delegates, heritage professionals, researchers, academics, software engineers, digital creators, and cultural custodians from across SAARC member states will attend.
Organizers stated the session aims to preserve South Asia’s physical monuments, museum collections, and performing traditions through high-precision documentation. Key technical discussions will cover digital archives, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), 3D scanning, and GIS mapping systems.
On September 17 at 3:45 PM, Sanjib will lead Session 12 as a technical resource person, presenting 'Restoring and Preserving Cultural Heritage through VR in Bangladesh'. The session will demonstrate frameworks for capturing archeological landmarks into interactive, immersive virtual reality environments accessible to mass audiences.
The SAARC Cultural Centre noted the forum facilitates technical exchange on heritage modeling and builds institutional collaboration among regional software developers and museum curators.
Founded in 2017 under the leadership of Project Head Ahamed Jaman Sonjib, Virtual Museum Bangladesh systematically digitizes cultural structures. Officially launched in Dhaka in 2022, VMB enables users to explore cultural sites using VR headsets, web portals, and 360-degree interactive tours. Its virtual database features the Shait Gumbad Mosque, Choto Sona Mosque, Boro Sardar Bari, Panam Nagar, Eleven Shiva Temple, Kantajew Temple, and Somapura Mahavihara.
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