All Programs
Conserve Tibet
CompletedPreserving endangered Tibetan audio-visual heritage through professional digitization and conservation
2013–2014Supported by The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
Overview
A digitization and archival initiative that recovered, preserved, and made accessible significant audio-visual materials of historical importance to the Tibetan people. At-risk collections — both private and public — were digitized before they were lost forever. The project preserved 36 recordings spanning 1953 to 2013, including the only known audio of Khunu Lama Rinpoche (whom the Dalai Lama called the "Shantideva of our time"), a rare 1985 interview with Tenzing Norgay in Tibetan, and teachings by Kyabje Trichang Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, and Chatral Rinpoche.
36
Recordings Digitized
1953–2013
Time Span
2
Grant Years
How It Works
1
Preserved the only known audio recording of Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen (1974)
2
Recovered a rare 1985 interview with Tenzing Norgay — one of the first two people to summit Everest — conducted in Tibetan on All India Radio
3
Digitized Tibetan folk operas, addresses by the Dalai Lama, teachings by four major Rinpoches, and folk songs from 1962
4
Complete set of archival CDs and hard drive delivered to the Rubin Foundation
5
Materials archived in a secure repository for non-commercial access by educational institutions and dharma centers
Methodology
Professional digitization of deteriorating analog recordings (reel-to-reel, cassette, vinyl) using archival-grade equipment. Each recording cataloged with full metadata.