Preserving Heritage in the Digital Age: The Bété Digital Inclusion Project

Thanks to the support of the SEI Research Fellowship, I had the opportunity to carry out a project at the intersection of art, technology, and cultural heritage: the Bété Digital Inclusion Project. This initiative aimed to bring the Bété script into the digital age by developing and testing tools like a keyboard and a digital font that use Unicode’s Private Use Area (PUA).

Background

The Bété script, developed in 1956 by Ivorian artist Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, is a unique writing system composed of syllabic signs and ideograms. It was conceived by Bouabré to record oral traditions and share knowledge within his community. Around three million Bété people in Côte d’Ivoire speak the Bété language cluster, but the Bété language is not taught in schools. A similar story is true for the Bété script: SEI previously funded research reports to document the Bété script, but found that despite its historical and cultural importance, “the script remains little known—even among the Bété people.”

At the same time, Bété has attracted international attention. It was featured in 2022 in an exhibit on Bouabré at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and was highlighted in a keynote at the 2025 Face/Interface conference at Stanford University, catching the eye of technologies across Europe and North America. These international networks have helped forge a collaboration for this fellowship project.

The Bété Digital Inclusion Project arose out of conversations around how to teach scripts to communities in the digital age when they do not yet have a Unicode encoding to work with. This project aimed to experiment with using Unicode’s Private Use Area (PUA), a range of code points that anyone can use, to test out fonts and keyboards in an effort to build functional communication tools for an unencoded script. Would having access to these features be enough to help a new script gain traction and build accessibility for future generations?

What the SEI Grant Allowed Us to Do

The SEI grant enabled me to gather the resources necessary for my research and create spaces of collaboration to further embrace Bété.

Working with SEI, we assembled a team for the Bété Digital Inclusion Project, including Craig Cornelius, Charles Riley, Neil Patel, Tex Texin, Oreen Yousuf, Jesus MacClean, Deborah Anderson, and Anushah Hossain. The team brought in different skill sets and resources, including access to Bété grammars and voice recordings, prototype keyboards and messaging applications, connections on the ground, and experience with encoding principles and practices.

My role on the ground was to test the tools created by the team—including a working font fashioned from the artwork I designed during my degree at Atelier National de Recherche Typographique (ANRT)—to gauge reception by current and potential Bété script users. In collaboration with JamraPatel, I refined a Bété PUA font and developed a keyboard layout for typing Bété characters.

This refinement could not have happened in isolation. Fonts and keyboards are only as valuable as they are useful in the real world. This made organizing focus groups and interviews with educators, artists, and native speakers to test and provide feedback on these tools all the more important. I also worked to build broader recognition for the Bété script to foster awareness and enthusiasm for the script’s future. Namely, I hosted a public exhibition, conference, and workshops in schools and other communal spaces, planting seeds for educational programs. Ideally, all these steps in favor of Bété will coalesce into a movement for indigenous African scripts at large.

Exhibition: Bété Script – Heritage and Future in the Digital Age

One of the project’s highlights was the French Institute of Côte d’Ivoire exhibition titled Bété Script: Heritage and Future in the Digital Age. It featured original posters and illustrations using the Bété script, interactive demonstrations of the Bété Keyboard app, a presentation of digital font prototypes, and artworks by Wissam Sayegh and Aly Mazeh, both inspired by Bouabré’s work.

The event drew a diverse audience of art lovers, language enthusiasts, government officials representing the Ministry of Culture, teachers, students, and members of Bouabré’s own family.

During the exhibition, I presented a series of posters, illustrations, and digital font prototypes that celebrate Bété writing. Bété script is at the heart of my graphic and typographic creations, not only as a communication tool, but as a means of preserving the cultural heritage of the Bété people and Côte d’Ivoire.

The “Bété Script – Heritage and Future in the Digital Age” exhibition opening at the French Institute. (Author’s documentation)

The “Bété Script – Heritage and Future in the Digital Age” exhibition opening at the French Institute. (Author’s documentation)

The “Bété Script – Heritage and Future in the Digital Age” exhibition opening at the French Institute. (Author’s documentation)

The “Bété Script – Heritage and Future in the Digital Age” exhibition opening at the French Institute. (Author’s documentation)

The “Bété Script – Heritage and Future in the Digital Age” exhibition opening at the French Institute. (Author’s documentation)

QR code to download the Bété app during the “Bété Script – Heritage and Future in the Digital Age” exhibition. (Author’s documentation)

The “Bété Script – Heritage and Future in the Digital Age” exhibition opening at the French Institute. (Author’s documentation)

The “Bété Script – Heritage and Future in the Digital Age” exhibition opening at the French Institute. (Author’s documentation)

To amplify the exhibition’s impact, I gave interviews on Life TV and Life Radio, introducing thousands to the Bété script for the first time. The opening day was a success, with rich exchanges between attendees about the script’s cultural and technological relevance.

My appearance on the national radio broadcast. (Author’s documentation)

My appearance on the national radio broadcast. (Author’s documentation)

My appearance on the national radio broadcast. (Author’s documentation)

The full program can be accessed here, especially the last 10 minutes.

France 24 also produced a segment on the project, which can be viewed here.

Workshops and School Engagement

As part of our outreach, we organized two primary school visits to the Abidjan exhibition: Le Nid de Cocody, and IMS Ivory Montessori School.

These sessions introduced young students to the Bété script in fun, interactive ways. Their enthusiasm was palpable, and it affirmed our belief that early exposure to indigenous scripts can foster cultural pride and curiosity. We now plan to expand these activities to more schools across the country.

Visit of the Bété exhibition by primary schools. (Author’s documentation)

Visit of the Bété exhibition by primary schools. (Author’s documentation)

The Conference: “Bété Script—Inheritance and Future in the Digital Age”

Held on February 18th, 2025, the “Bété Script—Inheritance and Future in the Digital Age” conference brought together artists, scholars, and students to discuss the future of the Bété script. We presented our progress on the font and keyboard and outlined a vision for integrating the script into educational systems and digital platforms, including plans for Unicode encoding.

The conference emphasized the need for collaborative, cross-disciplinary efforts to preserve indigenous scripts, and highlighted how technology and art can act as bridges between generations and cultures.

The Bété conference at the French institute of Côte d’Ivoire. (Author’s documentation)

The Bété conference at the French institute of Côte d’Ivoire. (Author’s documentation)

The Bété conference at the French institute of Côte d’Ivoire. (Author’s documentation)

The Bété conference at the French institute of Côte d’Ivoire. (Author’s documentation)

The Bété conference at the French institute of Côte d’Ivoire. (Author’s documentation)

Community Engagement and Feedback

We held multiple sessions with members of the Bruly Bouabré family, residents of Zépréguhé (Bouabré’s hometown), and exhibition attendees to gather feedback on the development of the Bété keyboard and the keyboard app created by JamraPatel. I observed that a lot of Bété users were unaware that a system for writing existed, but when they were introduced to the system, they displayed an intense desire to learn about and use it.

Meeting with Frederic Bruly Bouabré’s sons to show them the progress of the work, including the experimental keyboard and the Bété Keyboard app. (Author’s documentation)

Meeting with Frederic Bruly Bouabré’s sons to show them the progress of the work, including the experimental keyboard and the Bété Keyboard app. (Author’s documentation)

Meeting with Frederic Bruly Bouabré’s sons to show them the progress of the work, including the experimental keyboard and the Bété Keyboard app. (Author’s documentation)

The reviews were encouraging, but they also brought up some challenges. Many users expressed their excitement over the app and font, but did not understand how the script worked. This indicated the need to close the comprehension gaps in script and app knowledge. Providing the community with access to learning materials will familiarize them with the Bété script itself, in turn encouraging Bété users to utilize the app and keyboard. Creating clear instruction manuals for the app and keyboard will also improve the accessibility of these tools and the script as a whole. As knowledge and awareness of the Bété script grow, increased use incentivizes further knowledge and awareness. Closing these gaps will only garner momentum for the Bété script in the long run.

Navigating Sociopolitical Sensitivities

A more complex aspect of this project is the political context. Since former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, a Bété, quit office, some view promoting Bété culture as an ideological assertion. These associations have prompted a lack of support from certain institutions, often discouraging distribution of the script.

With these sociopolitical sensitivities in mind, I’ve decided to focus on the arts and culture as a means of promoting inclusion, which transcends politics and reflects universal values. As we promote Bété script through exhibitions, design, and education, we hope to ease the political tension and concentrate on the preservation of culture.

Conclusion

The SEI Research Fellowship made it possible for us to take an important step towards the revival and digitalization of the Bété script. With limited but focused funds, we organized innovative exhibitions, held workshops, and built functional tools such as a Bété font and keyboard, engaging diverse communities and inciting national and international interest in the project.

Fortunately, the Bété Digital Inclusion Project is just the beginning—there is so much more exciting work left to do. We hope to focus on: (1) expanding education through online platforms, school outreach, and workshops, (2) improving the Bété script app and keyboard through community feedback, and (3) streamlining collaboration with SEI to encode Bété into Unicode.

The Bété project stands as a demonstration of what can be realized when research, design, and culture are combined through the support of initiatives such as SEI. This work represents a model for how indigenous African scripts can be revived, modernized, and celebrated. The Bete script may have been created in the mid-20th century, but its future is unquestionably digital and enthusiastically bright.

Interested in conducting a similar project? Apply for the SEI Research Fellows Program by June 13th, 2025.