Google Earth Used for Genocide Awareness

Google teams with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to begin promoting awareness of genocide issues such as the Darfur region in Sudan to a global audience.

Google and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum today announced an online mapping initiative which is designed to highlight growing troubles in the Darfur region of Sudan via Google Earth. This initiative, dubbed Crisis in Darfur, is the first project in "the Museum’s Genocide Prevention Mapping Initiative that will over time include information on potential genocides."

The Holocaust Museum, through Google Earth, is highlighting the Darfur situation via a Global Awareness layer in Google Earth starting today. Crisis in Darfur content comes from a range of sources, including the U.S. State Department, non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, individual photographer and the Museum. The high-resolution imagery in Google Earth enables users to zoom into the region to view more than 1,600 damaged and destroyed villages.

"At Google, we believe technology can be a catalyst for education and action," said Elliot Schrage, Google Vice President, Global Communications and Public Affairs, in a statement. "Crisis in Darfur will enable Google Earth users to visualize and learn about the destruction in Darfur as never before and join the Museum’s efforts in responding to this continuing international catastrophe."

The Holocaust Museum also announced they will be doing a similar Google Earth mapping project about Holocaust history as well.The Museum is using Google Earth to map key Holocaust sites with historic content from its collections.