Author: Daniela

  • The Future is Here with Printed Food

    The Future is Here with Printed Food

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    Daniela
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    Hey Star Trek fans – that food replicator you always thought was so cool on the show is no longer a thing of the future – its here now in the form of 3D food printers. “3D printed food could transform cooking,” says Hod Lipson, professor of innovation at Columbia University and creator of the…

  • Leveraging Technology and Innovation to Promote the Handcrafts

    Leveraging Technology and Innovation to Promote the Handcrafts

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    Daniela
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    Can modern technology be a partner in preserving traditional crafts passed down through generations? Many countries are coming to recognize the important role crafts play in preserving cultural identity. Iran is no exception. In the July 9th interview with the Tehran Times, Zahra Ebrahimi, an official from the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, expresses the “strategic…

  • Teaching Children to Think and Innovate Through Art

    Teaching Children to Think and Innovate Through Art

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    Daniela
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    While AI may be controversial to many, Tian Taiquan has embraced the technology and, in 2023, pioneered the first AI co-creation art program for children. In a recent interview Tian Taiquan, founder of the Erduoren children’s art brand and a renowned contemporary Chinese artist, discussed his innovative art education approach. “Our goal is to teach…

  • What Is Cultural Heritage

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    I’ve spent a lot of time in Croatia these last ten years visiting my now 95 year-old mother. Since I always identified strongly with my heritage I thought I would instantly fit in. Of course that didn’t happen. I’ve lived in the United States for the majority of my life and while I have a…

  • The Fox Wife

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    NPR introduces Yangsze Choo’s new book The Fox Wife on their Book of the Day series. The book “blossomed from that core idea behind the title, of a woman who also happens to be a fox. But beyond that, it’s a story about a mother avenging her child, about a murder investigation in early 20th…

  • How Traditional Societies Harvest Rainwater

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    Daniela
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    In her show Sunita Narain talks about her journey through India’s villages where she learned about the extraordinary ways in which traditional societies harvest rainwater.

  • Integrating Traditional Knowledge into our Contemporary Society

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    Bijendra Gogoi perfectly expresses my sentiments about traditional knowledge in the June 2nd issue of The Sentinel. The great Indian philosopher Swami Vivekananda said, “But out of the past is built the future. Look back, therefore, as far as you can, drink deep of the eternal fountains that are behind, and after that, look forward,…

  • Endurance Running – One of Man’s Earliest Hunting Techniques

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    Science has an interesting article about an often-overlooked hunting weapon used by humans for millennia: our legs. “For decades, some anthropologists have argued that endurance running was among the first hunting techniques employed by early hominins in Africa. Advocates suggest subsequent millennia spent chasing down prey shaped many unique human features, including our springy arched…

  • Mexican Artisans Collaborate with Adidas to Celebrate Sports

    Mexican Artisans Collaborate with Adidas to Celebrate Sports

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    Daniela
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    Although industrialization is efficient and clearly necessary to meet the needs of large populations, what is lost in mass-produced objects is the soul, artistry and unique style of the craftsman. So I was heartened when I came across a piece about Adidas’ collaboration with Mexican artisans to “create stunning pieces that celebrate both traditional Latin…

  • Preserving Cultural Crafts

    Preserving Cultural Crafts

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    Daniela
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    I’m so heartened by the stories of individuals, families and governments striving to preserve and revive traditional crafts all over the world. In the on-line publication YourStory, Saranya Chakrapani features Shahida Khanum’s efforts to revive the indigenous crafts of her ethnic tribal community of the Gujjars who live in a remote village in Kashmir. At…