The Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CultNat) is one of the research centers of the academic research sector at Bibliotheca Alexandrina stationed in Cairo and supported by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. The Center aims to apply the latest technological innovations in documentation and dissemination of Egypt’s cultural heritage, the tangible and intangible.
For more than fifteen years, CULTNAT has been building databases that cover the diverse fields of Egypt’s huge heritage, gathering massive amounts of data, applying and creating advanced technology, and employing qualified human resources. CULTNAT’s multilingual databases, a huge repository of heritage information, are reinforced by 2D and 3D high quality images. This wealth of knowledge is disseminated through different channels which include the patented panoramic interactive display system, CULTURAMA, together with books, multimedia applications, documentary movies, websites, virtual reality, augmented reality, mobile applications, and GIS applications.
The scope of CULTNAT’s work encompasses Egyptian cultural and natural heritage. The former, with all its facets, whether tangible or intangible. Many CULTNAT projects are dedicated to documenting the tangible heritage, starting with the Archeological map of Egypt that employs multimedia in conjunction with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technologies to produce a powerful documentation and management tool for ancient Egyptian archeological sites. Information about the museum artifacts is included in a website pertaining to the center such as the award winning website Eternal Egypt and the Global Egyptian Museum. The intangible heritage includes the arts and folklore. There are projects that document these variations based on place like the Nubian heritage and the Siwa heritage. Others that document aspects of art include the Stars of Music in the Arab World.