A South African-born entrepreneur is helping to bring the stories of her Huguenot ancestors to the world through VR technology (Virtual Reality) she has pioneered in Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michelle Milnes (nee Cilli\u00e9) set up the multi-award-winning proptech company, Property Studios, in Scotland eight years ago. She was following in the footsteps of her Huguenot great-grandfather from Wellington, who studied medicine at Edinburgh University, and remained in Scotland after falling in love with its rich cultural heritage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Property Studios today leads the way in the property technology sector in the UK, offering photo-realistic, razor-sharp 3D and virtual-reality tours, CGIs, virtual staging, and computer-generated makeovers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It now counts some of the UK\u2019s biggest property names, museums and galleries as clients and is expanding into European markets, Ethiopia, Australia and South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s in the latter \u2013 Milnes\u2019 homeland \u2013 that she\u2019s sharing her lifelong interest in her ancestors, the Huguenots, the French Protestants who fled persecution by the Catholic Church in the 17th century. Of that diaspora of more than 160 000, only around 300 settled in South Africa yet made an indelible mark on its culture as well as its genealogy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That heritage \u2013 with its facets of power, belief, freedom and myth \u2013 provides fertile material for Milnes and her team to create a VR exploration of the Huguenot Memorial Museum in the town of Franschhoek (literally \u201cFrench corner\u201d) in the Cape Winelands. The technology allows anyone, from anywhere in the world, to visit the museum virtually in 3D, view the exhibits and listen to the curator talking about the pieces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Says Milnes: \u201cOur technology dovetails with the beautiful and evocative space and exhibits of the museum. Tracey Randle\u2019s exquisite curation of objects \u2013 chairs, Bibles, crocheted goods, lanterns, clocks \u2013 allows an enriching and immersive multimedia exploration of the Huguenots\u2019 world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt felt like an important project for me personally, but also a timely one in the larger context of forced migration and its human toll. There are now 26 m refugees in the world; that\u2019s the equivalent of the population of Cameroon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s part of an important, wider debate about displacement and national identity. Those debates happen around the world, and the online presence of the museum can leaven those discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Milnes adds that another fascinating aspect of the museum is the display of matrilineal ancestry: \u201cAlthough the Huguenots lived in a stridently patriarchal society, the role of women is eloquently shown. Again, that\u2019s an important debate for our time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Andrew Kok, chair of the Huguenot Memorial Society of SA says: \u201cThe Huguenot Memorial Museum and adjoining Huguenot Monument tell the story of freedom from political and religious oppression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe moral strength and courage of the Huguenots places their story beyond the boundaries of time, place, ethnicity and religion. This is a must-do visit for everyone who believes in these values.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A South African-born entrepreneur is helping to bring the stories of her Huguenot ancestors to the world through VR technology (Virtual Reality) she has pioneered in 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