Internet Interactive Multimedia Database as a Tool for Learning about Israel’s Current Cultural Diversity Prof. Oz Almog, Sharon Hornstein – Land of Israel Studies; Dr. Tamar Almog, Tal Daniel – eTeaching Unit University of Haifa tdaniel@univ.haifa.ac.il Tolerance and respect for others are based upon familiarity with the cultural world of the Other. Hence, an information source that presents the cultural world of diverse groups within Israeli society is likely to help bring people together. Furthermore, the in-depth treatment given to each culture transmits a symbolic message that everyone is of equal social status and has a place in Israel’s cultural space. Following the linkage between knowledge and tolerance we’ve built an interactive Internet multimedia database (text, photos, video & audio bits, etc.) which functions as a content/asset management system which could be applied, with little modifications, to any information corpus with likely lexical character. The documentation incorporates the institutions, traditions and lifestyles that make each culture unique within the Israeli society such as patterns of taste, language, clothing, cuisine, housing, entertainment, education, economic measures etc. The goal of this tool is to serve as an updated source of information and a pedagogical tool for courses offered at institutions of higher learning across the country on the topic of multiculturalism. It can also be used as a model for other countries and other organizations that seek to promote cultural tolerance. The poster will present the virtual architecture of the multimedia-interactive database. This electronic tool enables the visitor in our Internet site to reach valuable and user-friendly information on the 19 prominent subcultures in the current Israeli society. The cultural data is classified into an index of 20 social spheres (Sociological categories) of daily life: Economy, Politics, Family, Religion, Education etc. The information in each category is presented as text with links to multimedia resources: photos, video clips, audio recordings etc. The links play an important role in illustrating and elaborating on specific issues in the text. They also supply additional geographical, historical and sociological data, such as articles and statistical tables. This project is sponsored by UNESCO and executed on a server at the University of Haifa. Full access to the content is given only to authorized students and editors.
