Software for the Past (SfP 2021): 2nd Workshop on Digital Technologies to Study the Past and Present

Presented by Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee

9 December 2021 Virtually

A joint conference between the Software Engineering Department and Land of Israel Studies Department.

Advances in archiving technologies, image processing, deep learning, and augmented reality have transformed the experience and understanding of the past. Such technologies enable researchers to better understand historical cultures, events, and peoples. They also enable immersive historical, anthropological, and archaeological experiences for tourism and education.

We welcome abstracts and extended abstracts on the design and implementation of new technology tools to study the past and present and results gained from use of such tools. The workshop is not specific to a particular time period or locale, but presentations must display technological innovation that help in understanding the past. We are looking for diverse case studies from all over the world. Preference will be given to those technical approaches that have wider applications and that show promise for general use.

Conference Registration

Conference attendance is free, but requires prior registration.

Conference Program

Opening and Welcome 👋

• 1400 Conference Welcome - Organizing Committee
• 1400 Opening Remarks - Professor Avraham Shitzer, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Kinneret College

Session 1: Keynote

• 1415 How technology can upend the archives, revolutionize their use, and frighten the wits out of the archivists - Yaacov Lozowick, Bar Ilan University

Session 2: Picturing the Past 🖼️

• Session Chair: Giora Goodman, Kinneret College
• 1450 Epidat - names, dates, places - Thomas Kollatz, Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz
• 1510 Using AI to Restore Historical Photos and Illuminate the Past - Daniel Horowitz, MyHeritage
• 1530 Digitally Saving Rosh Pinna’s Historic and Crumbling Cemetery - Efrat Kantor and Michael J. May, Kinneret College

1550-1600 Virtual Coffee Break ☕

Session 3: Museums and Places 🏛️

• Session Chair: Hayah Katz, Kinneret College
• 1600 A Spatial Analysis of Historical Agricultural Land-Use Changes in the Judean Region - Gad Schaffer, Tel Hai Academic College
• 1620 Potential, ideas and challenges of introducing technology to a museum: A case study at the Upper Galilee Museum of Prehistory - Tsvi Kuflik, University of Haifa; Danny Rosenberg, University of Haifa; Gonen Sharon, Tel Hai Academic College; Liran Segal, University of Haifa; Eitan Ivchenko, University of Haifa; Dor Berko, University of Haifa; Yuval Maron, Tel Hai Academic College
• 1640 The National Knowledge Center on the History and Heritage of Jerusalem and its Environs - Avraham Faust and Roni Shweka, Bar Ilan University

Session 4: Manuscripts and Professionals 📜

• Session Chair: Professor Mordechai Aviam, Kinneret College
• 1700 Hebrew Manuscripts as a Source for Knowledge - Gila Prebor, Bar Ilan University
• 1720 Towards Automatic Cataloguing of Hebrew Manuscripts - Hadar Miller, University of Haifa; Yoav Philips, University of Haifa; Tsvi Kuflik, University of Haifa; Moshe Lavee, University of Haifa; Nachum Dershowitz, Tel Aviv University; Samuel Londner, Tel Aviv University
• 1740 Digitizing the History of the Professionals – A Personal Reflection - Eyal Katvan, Peres Academic Center

Closing Remarks 👋

• 1800 Closing and Farewell - Organizing Committee

Organizing committee

SfP is proudly organized by members of the Software Engineering and Land of Israel studies departments of Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee:

• Michael J. May, Software Engineering, Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee
• Efrat Kantor, Land of Israel Studies, Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee