Our Vision
The Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College is committed to this vision and sees its goal as a leader in harnessing the leading digital technologies, primarily the imaging and communication technologies that are developing every day, for the needs of cultural heritage preservation.
This commitment coincides with a growing interest and need, both within the realm of heritage professionals and among the public.
The Jerusalem Institute for Digital Documentation of Tangible Heritage aims to pursue the following goals:
- To serve as a regional center of digital documentation technologies.
- To support close multidisciplinary academic collaboration between researchers, field personnel, scientists, engineers, and technicians, conservation, and museum research parties in applied digital imaging technologies, on the written and material heritage of Jerusalem, Israel, and the Mediterranean region.
- To support and help in the publication of scientific research articles.
- To provide support, training, and accompaniment for projects of documentation and preservation of heritage in the area.
- To encourage and promote the development of principles and best Practices for registration, documentation, and information management of cultural heritage.
- To lead and participate in community, regional, national, and international training programs for digital preservation.
- To advise public bodies, non-profit organizations and institutions on tools, and methods of their application for their unique purposes.
- To facilitate the establishment of working groups for professionals, both in the fields of technology and cultural heritage.
- To serve as a platform for conferences, lectures, and workshops.
- To encourage the establishment of a national network of professionals, in the fields of cultural heritage imaging technologies.
- To train students and scholars in applying imaging and analytical technologies to cultural heritage materials.
- To enable digital access to cultural heritage materials and the publication of research carried out by the cooperating institutions and researchers, librarians, scientists, and students associated with them as part of their participation in the project.
Jerusalem has long been recognized as one of the most significant heritage cities in the world. Situated between east and west, it serves as the focal point of the three major monotheistic religions. The land has been both sacred and contested for millennia and continues to be so today. There is virtually no piece of land there that, upon digging, does not reveal the secrets of its past. For this reason, it attracts heritage researchers from around the globe.
In its 50th-anniversary heritage convention charter, UNESCO states:” Jerusalem at the crossroads between the watershed route of the Judaea Mountains being midway between Nablus and Hebron and the connection from the coastal Via Maris to the Jordan Rift Valley, has historically given it strategic importance. This meeting place between East and West has, over the ages, become cultural and physical.”
The Old City and Ramparts of Jerusalem is an inscribed site on the World Heritage List. The Ramparts represent the Ottoman boundaries of the 16th century and enclose the built sites of the Temple Mount/Haram el-Sharif as well as the Christian shrines of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Via Dolorosa.
“… Jerusalem, between these hills, forms a unique witness to the cultural cradle of the Western monotheistic religions, including Jewish sites identified during the Temple periods, including the City of David Christian sites identified by Queen Helena including Gethsemane, the Church of the Ascension, Bethany, and the site of the Last Supper, and Islamic sites of the Night Journey of Mohammed.”
The Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College is deeply embedded in the heart and culture of Jerusalem. Situated in the city center, it is shaped by its surroundings, history, architecture, and demographics, while also influencing those around it. As such, the College has long been engaged in academic, social, and cultural activities that aim to bridge the realms of academia and education with the cultural needs of society.