Tuvalu Digital Repository for Cultural Heritage at the United Nations in New York

At a thematic workshop of the C-SET Coalition and the Global Centre for Climate Mobility (GCCM) in New York, Dr. Annette Kühlem of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) presented the project as a concrete model for the protection of endangered cultural heritage in the context of sea-level rise.

On 9 April 2026, the workshop on 9 April 2026 took place at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations and supported the ongoing UN process towards a Political Declaration on Sea Level Rise. The C-SET Coalition – jointly led by Germany and Tuvalu and supported by a group of pioneer states – brought together scientists, legal experts, and development practitioners to discuss the most pressing dimensions of this global challenge.

Documentation as a Field of Action in Climate Policy
The Tuvalu Digital Repository for Cultural Heritage, developed and implemented by the DAI in collaboration with Tuvalu's Department of Culture and the Rising Nations Initiative (RNI) of the GCCM, documents and safeguards Tuvaluan cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible – that is increasingly threatened by sea-level rise. In New York, Kühlem demonstrated how digital technologies can be deployed for cost- and time-efficient documentation, and how the project's participatory approach – the systematic involvement of Tuvaluan communities in decision-making and project development – is increasingly recognised as an indispensable model in the international climate debate: “The digital preservation of cultural heritage is a concrete and immediately effective response to the threats posed by climate change. While the international community continues to work towards the climate targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, we are simultaneously acting on the ground – through documentation, capacity building, and research in close exchange with local communities”, said Annette Kühlem, project lead at the Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures at the DAI.

Local Capacities as the Foundation of Cultural Sovereignty
Since the Berlin Climate Mobility Forum in June 2025, the project has continued to grow in substance: training sessions and workshops have built local capacities across the various islands, enabling Tuvaluan communities to independently document and preserve their cultural heritage digitally in the future. Decision-making processes are guided by local value systems; particularly sensitive or sacred knowledge remains accessible exclusively to authorised knowledge holders – in keeping with the principle of cultural sovereignty. Alongside three-dimensional models of cultural sites and objects and transcriptions of oral traditions, the repository includes audiovisual documentation of dances, songs, music, crafts, and cultural practices.

The project is carried out by the DAI in close coordination with the Tuvaluan Department of Culture and is funded by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms part of a broader partnership with the GCCM and reflects Germany’s commitment to climate justice and cultural resilience, particularly in highly vulnerable regions such as the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).