Global Engagement: Immersive Audiovisual Technology Will Be a Part of New Cornell Library On-Campus Portal Made From a Shipping Container

From Cornell Library:

In fall 2018, Cornellians will be able to engage deeply with people all over the world – from international entrepreneurs to Syrian refugees – through an on-campus portal equipped with immersive audiovisual technology.
The portal, which will be located just outside Olin Library for three months, is part of a global public art initiative bringing people face-to-face with others from different continents and life circumstances. Portals have been installed in more than 20 places around the world, including Afghanistan, Honduras, Germany, Iraq, Myanmar, Rwanda, Newark, New Jersey, and Los Angeles.
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Inside the high-tech portal, which is made from a shipping container, users will come face-to-face with someone in a different portal elsewhere. Users can have spontaneous conversations with people through the portal, and classes can reserve and use the portals for projects or assignments for global learning.
The Cornell portal is being coordinated by Cornell University Library and sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs.
“This installation will expose Cornellians and community members to a level of diversity that is otherwise difficult to experience,” said Carl A. Kroch University Librarian Gerald Beasley. “The library is dedicated to diversity of thought and connecting people, places and ideas. This project will advance all of those goals.”

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