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- EIN 26-3288189
- info@diarna.org
- 203.380.8031
- 304 Newbury St, No. 311 Boston MA 02115 USA
- http://www.diarna.org
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Arts & Culture, Historical Organizations
Mission: Diarna: Mapping Mizrahi Heritage, is an initiative of Digital Heritage Mapping, a 501(c)(3) non-profit specializing in virtual documentation of global cultural heritage sites. Dianra ("Our Homes" in Judeo-Arabic) is pioneering the use of new global image mapping technology, particularly Google Earth, to virtually preserve endangered Jewish heritage sites across of the Middle East and North Africa. As these sites decay and people with knowledge of them pass on, future generations are losing tangible connections to communities that once contributed significantly both to Jewish and world culture. Diarna’s preservation efforts entail locating and collecting archival and contemporary photographs of Mizrahi heritage sites, interviewing current and former community residents, and assembling a multimedia layer in Google Earth to share this material in a myriad of popular educational formats. Driven by a team with diverse backgrounds and outlooks, Diarna makes a point of eschewing politics to focus on collecting factual information. Core personnel include scholars and students from Wellesley College, Google Earth developers in Europe and the United States, social entrepreneurs, and young Middle Eastern researchers eager to map virtual common ground. Diarna provides an opportunity to (a) preserve Jewish heritage and enhance Jewish identity in the digital age, (b) create common ground for interfaith dialogue and promote an appreciation of Middle Eastern diversity, and (c) fill a void in historiography by injecting geo-spatial positioning data. Moreover, Diarna's virtual tour of rebuilt sites will enable people from around the world to explore this heritage without worrying about political border crossings or even expensive airfare.
Geographic areas served: Global
Programs: Pioneering new technology and multimedia techniques for documenting historical and cultural sites
conducting field research to geo-locate and digitize as well as record place-based oral histories
applying research data and scholarship to create educational exhibits curricula films and virtual tours