Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengembangkan desain aplikasi Yaahowu Apps sebagai e-museum berbasis festival untuk mempertahankan eksistensi kearifan lokal budaya dan sejarah Suku Nias. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan Research & Development (R&D) melalui studi lapangan, wawancara mendalam, dokumentasi dengan analisis desain konseptual dan analisis kebutuhan. Hasil penelitian merancang aplikasi yang terdiri dari sepuluh fitur utama, yaitu home, profil pulau nias, profil berdasarkan kabupaten/kota, sejarah dan budaya, penyajian teks-foto-video (sejarah dan budaya), komentar, informasi festival, pendaftaran festival, upload karya, dan informasi pengumuman. Yaahowu Apps dirancang bersifat dua arah serta menjadikan simbol hombo batu sebagai strategi semiotik simbol familiar dan mengintegrasikan festival budaya secara online sebagai upaya revitalisasi praktik warisan budaya tak benda. Rancangan ini memiliki fungsi ganda sebagai penguatan identitas internal masyarakat Nias dan diseminasi pengakuan eksternal. Kesimpulannya, Yaahowu Apps berpotensi menjadi model terintegrasi (arsip digital, ruang partisipasi sosial, praktik keterampilan budaya) sebagai strategi efektif mempertahankan kearifan lokal budaya dan sejarah lokal suku Nias. Pengembangan selanjutnya melibatkan kolobarasi pemerintahan daerah dan validasi partisipasi kolektif bersama tokoh adat, tokoh masyarakat, pemerintah dan ahli budaya. Kata kunci: E-museum, Kearifan Lokal, Yaahowu Apps This study aims to develop the design of the Yaahowu Apps application as a festival-based e-museum to preserve the local cultural and historical heritage of the Nias people. The study employs a Research & Development (R&D) approach through fieldwork, in-depth interviews and documentation, alongside conceptual design analysis and requirements analysis. The research resulted in the design of an application comprising ten main features, namely: home, Nias Island profile, profiles by regency/city, history and culture, text-photo-video presentations (history and culture), comments, festival information, festival registration, work uploads, and announcement information. The Yaahowu Apps are designed to be interactive and utilise the ‘hombo batu’ symbol as a familiar semiotic strategy, whilst integrating cultural festivals online as an effort to revitalise the practice of intangible cultural heritage. This design serves a dual function: strengthening the internal identity of the Nias community and disseminating external recognition. In conclusion, the Yaahowu Apps has the potential to become an integrated model (digital archive, space for social participation, cultural skills practice) as an effective strategy for preserving the local cultural wisdom and history of the Nias people. Further development will involve collaboration with the local government and the validation of collective participation alongside traditional leaders, community leaders, the government and cultural experts. Keywords: E-museum, Local Wisdom, Yaahowu Apps
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