WSA 07 Awards in Venice (7)

Category: e-Culture

The jury has made a selection of five projects from around the world: New Zealand, Israel, Fiji, Germany and Guatamala. Three entries are online projects, one cross media and one offline. Exciting are Te Puia from New Zealand and Intangible Cultural Heritage in Fiji from Fiji. Interesting is the convergence of digital and tactile interaction in Te Puia. Intangible Cultural Heritage in Fiji has developed a method to combine new technology and oral history; this method could be applied in many areas.
Below you will find the texts of the jury laudations.

Title: Te Puia – Rotorua New Zealand
Media Format: cross media
URL: http://www.lumendigital.co.nz/
Producer: Lumen
Country: New Zealand
Description of the Product
Culture can be preserved. The Te Puia galleries in Rotorua, New Zealand are two large, predominantly multimedia galleries that introduce visitors to the landscape of Whakarewarewa geothermal valley and Te Arawa culture. They represent the latest convergence of digital and tactile interaction design for indigenous cultural tourism. These galleries engage visitors with Maori culture. They provide an immersive space with 3D game technology and large, tactile, multimedia interactives. The Te Puia galleries are a cross media application that preserves the history of the valley in a form that is engaging and accessible. They are It is designed to be a tool for guides rather than an independent experience, as the local Maori guiding economy is a crucial lifeblood for the region.

Title: City of David
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: http://www.cityofdavid.org.il/
Producer: INKOD HYPERA Ltd.
Country: Israel
Description of the Product
History lives. The City of David encapsulates the Biblical City of Jerusalem where King David himself roamed over 3,000 years ago. This outstanding website brings remote visitors face to face with the protagonists and locations of the living Bible. Its fabulous visuals and the rich descriptions of the site in English, Spanish, Hebrew, French and Russian bring to life the only place on earth where the only guidebook actually needed is the Bible itself. The City of David is produced by a non-political and nonreligious organization located in the heart of the Old City in Jerusalem. Guided tours, a 3D movie, and a panoramic outlook of the town invite you to visit the City of David. See you soon!

Title: Intangible Cultural Heritage in Fiji
Title in Original Language: Participatory 3D GIS Modelling Exercise for Resource Use, Development Planning and Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Fiji
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: www.iapad.org/applications/plup/ovalau.htm
Producer: Fiji Locally Managed Marine Areas (FLMMA)
Country: Fiji
Description of the Product
Participation preserves culture. The Participatory 3D Geographic Information System from Fiji is a collaborative resource used for the planning and preservation of intangible cultural heritage on the island. Participatory learning and action methods are combined with Geographic Information Technologies and Systems to compose and record peoples’ spatial knowledge in the forms of virtual or physical, 2 or 3 dimensional maps. These maps are used as interactive means for discussion, information exchange, and analyses and as support in advocacy, decision making and action taking in the communities. Mapping cultural assets help to protect them and to develop resource management and preservation plans for those communities in Fiji.

Title: The End of Silence
Title in Original Language: Ende des Schweigens
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: http://www.auschwitzprozess.hr-online.de/
Producer: BlueMars - Gesellschaft für digitale Kommunikation mbH
Country: Germany
Description of the Product
Culture needs remembrance. "The End of Silence" is a unique multimedia documentary of the Auschwitz Trials in Frankfurt 1963-1965 which ended eighteen-years of silence on the crimes in the concentration camps. The web site gives a comprehensive overview about a behaviour common in Germany after the war when people wanted to forget the holocaust. It shows how a man picks up the topic and makes it an issue. The use of exceptional interactive video content without a melancholic overtone has an impact on young and old. The project guides the audience through four chapters revealing the concentration camp atrocities, the events during the trials, witness accounts and present-day commemoration activities. Original film footage and exclusive artwork from camp survivors bring history to life.

Title: Interactive Site for Guatemala
Title in Original Language: Portal de Material Interactivo de Studio C
Media Format: offline/DVD
Producer: Studio C
Country: Guatemala
Description of the Product
Culture needs presentation. “Guatemala Interactive” is a compilation of digital contents for a virtual and interactive exposition on the country. It allows users to experience and learn about the history, the current situations and projects and to travel to a near future of a Guatemala reaching to interact with the global market and to contribute to it. The DVD aims to create a platform in which Guatemala´s best features can be presented and showcased. Multimedia technology is used to simplify the experience and to interest the user in to exploring the country. Examples of projects included are traditional ones such as “Exploring the past” or “Mirador” or current innovative projects such as Pluricultural Mathematics and the Centre for Art and Technology.

Blog Posting Number: 917

Tags: e-Culture, WSA