The World Summit Award (WSA), global project is an initiative by the European Academy for Digital Media (EADIM) and held in the framework of and in cooperation with the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2003-2005. This can be termed as a great communication tool to select and promote creativity under digital mannerisms.

World Summit Award 2003 is a collection of 40 extraordinary projects that were chosen by WSA grand jury to epitomize the quality of today’s multimedia market worldwide.

The projects which were awarded for e-Culture in WSA 2003 are:

Art2LIFE
The Canadian Century- This has been a conscious effort to endorse a perfect understanding of art within greater socio-historical themes. The site can be presented as a timeline of 20th century Canadian art, events and people. The site is inspired by the principles of learning through art and the value of integrated learning.

Jury evaluates the endeavour as an instance of e-Culture to be followed by others in order to present and conserve cultural values online. The site gets appreciation from jury because it announces the importance of integrated learning.

Nuestro.cl
The Chilean cultural heritage site- the site gives an impression to Chile’s identity and cultural heritage that is alive and dynamic. It aims to encourage cultural diversity, to promote knowledge and allow the free interchange of ideas, uniting efforts for the valuation of patrimony and identity. It also provides an online space for collaboration of people and cultural institutions.

It has impresses jury completely as it is been continuously updated and provides articles and news related to recent and upcoming events. And also the site has proved it to be an extremely interactive and demands active participation.

The Splendid Chinese Culture Website- the website is Hong Kong’s foremost cultural project ornamented by the rich heritage of Chinese life, literature and culture. The project aims students and citizens alike and aims to increase knowledge, recognition and the comprehension of Chinese cultural development.

Chiculture.net gets appreciation from the jury, as it is a strong provider of implausible range of contents on Chinese life, history and culture. It is a powerful online national archive of Chinese history and culture over the centuries.

FACES- Romantic stones
The FACES CD-Rom from France offers a contemporary interpretation of Romanesque figures. It comprises of 18 series covering history, literature, art, religion and intercultural exchange. FACES features twenty-six impressions of faces from different places.

According to the jury, FACES provides a very different look on heritage. The photographs are clear and simple interface around black and white combinations. The blending of different multimedia formats is done in a commendable fashion.

Living Heritage
This online bilingual initiative has been a great effort that is curriculum-linked and web-based for young people of New Zealand. The project develops and dissects local cultural content created by primary and secondary students in an extraordinary environment of sharing and creating. It stands out distinctively with its participatory approach to social history and contemporary cultural life. This online service preserves history and culture in a digital format for every generation.

Living Heritage is highly appreciated by the jury for it’s participatory approach to social history and contemporary cultural life. It provides a free online environment and self-publishing tools for a growing online collection of stories, hence contributing to the unique mosaic which is a nation’s culture and history.

The WSA 05 Grand Jury with the selection of nominees and winners will take place in August 2005. The winners will be announced at the WSA winners Gala in Tunis, November 2005 which will be held in the framework of the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society.