On January 28, 2026, Tra Vinh University hosts a dialogue titled “Buông-leaf manuscripts: preserving Khmer heritage through digital technology.” The event takes place within the project “Digitizing buông-leaf manuscripts to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the Khmer community at Samrong-Ek Pagoda, Nguyet Hoa Ward, Vinh Long Province,” with funding from the Local Initiatives Fund of the Embassy of Canada in Vietnam.
The dialogue attracts more than 80 researchers and managers from Pali–Khmer educational institutions, provincial departments and agencies, and localities including Vinh Long, Can Tho, An Giang, and Ca Mau. Participants gather to discuss practical approaches to safeguarding buông-leaf manuscripts in the digital era.
Representing the project sponsor, HE. Colin Shonk, First Secretary of the Embassy of Canada in Vietnam, emphasizes that the digitization project preserves ancient materials and helps revive knowledge passed down through generations. He values the role of Tra Vinh University, local authorities, and the community in heritage preservation, and he expresses honor in supporting the project while hoping the fund continues to inspire future heritage initiatives.
Prof. Dr. Pham Tiet Khanh, Chair of the Strategic Council of Tra Vinh University, states that the project delivers a digital archive that serves as a humane space for language and community knowledge. During the assessment at Samrong-Ek Pagoda, the research team records 1,327 buông-leaf volumes with diverse, interdisciplinary content. The team classifies and catalogs the collection and scans 90 sets comprising 239 volumes for digitization during the project period. The dialogue focuses on source materials, practical applications, project management and disclosure, and shared experience in completing scientific publications.
In his opening address, Prof. Dr. Pham Tiet Khanh frames the discussion around the theme of preserving and sustaining buông-leaf manuscripts through digital means. Presentations explore challenges and solutions in digitizing the Samrong-Ek collection, current difficulties in preservation and development, specialized OCR technology for post-Angkor Khmer scripts on buông leaves, the role of digitization in safeguarding heritage values, and human-centered digital humanities approaches from storage to retrieval for Southern Vietnam.
The five papers presented at the dialogue focus on preserving and developing buông-leaf manuscripts in the digital age. The discussions cover the digitization of buông-leaf manuscripts at Samrong Ek Pagoda, highlighting challenges, solutions, and development prospects in a technology-driven context, as presented by Ngo Phu Hai. Speakers also address current difficulties in preservation and development under real conditions, as shared by Chau Mo Ni Soc Kha. Another paper introduces a specialized OCR model for post-Angkor Khmer texts and buông-leaf scripts, presented by Danh Hong, founder of NextOCR Cambodia. The role of digitization in safeguarding and promoting the value of buông-leaf manuscripts receives attention through an analysis by MSc. Danh Men. In addition, a digital humanities orientation proposes an end-to-end approach from storage to retrieval to build a digital humanities platform for buông-leaf manuscripts in Southern Vietnam, presented by a doctoral researcher from Nanjing Normal University, China.
At the event, the Organizing Committee presents certificates to project members and contributing authors to recognize the contributions of lecturers, experts, researchers, monks, and students throughout the digitization process. Through this dialogue, Tra Vinh University reaffirms its role as a research hub for preserving and promoting Khmer cultural values in the context of digital transformation. The outcomes provide a solid scientific basis to finalize the project report and open new paths for cooperation, research, and technological application in traditional cultural heritage preservation.
Hieu Nhan
