Google Cultural Institute delivers history lessons through technology

History is often overlooked and rarely highlighted in technology, of lesser importance if you will. Google decided to put history in the foreground with the introduction of the Google Cultural Institute by using technology as a foundation.

Seventeen partners, including cultural foundations and museums, contribute to the project through their archives of letters, first-hand video testimonials and manuscripts, as well as other resources. The Google Cultural Institute offers 42 new historical exhibitions that are available for online viewing and includes stories detailing significant events of the 20th century. The Holocaust, D-Day and the Apartheid are all major turning points in human history, and highlighted in a digital form by the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation.

The purpose of the Google Cultural Institute is to help "move" history into the digital era, and to provide access to cultural and historical resources to anyone interested in the provided topics. On top of it, Google is preserving it, also thinking about the young and future generations that should have the right to witness history, albeit in a more technological-oriented form.

"It's also about building a culture of interrogation, of going back to history and saying 'what happened, and what does that mean for today'", says Obenewa Amponsah, who works with the Steve Biko Foundation. "And I think it's very important to use technology to do that".