Multimedia Takes on Societal Challenges

E ver since the emergence of digitization, we’ve used the term multimedia to represent a combination of different kinds of media types, such images, audio files, and videos. Although the initial definition of multimedia was more technical, multimedia has become the central means for communicating and cooperating with others in our daily lives. With this shift, we have since moved from comprehending single media and its state toward comprehending media in terms of its use context. Multimedia is thus no longer confined to documentation and preservation, entertainment, or personal media collections; rather, it has become an integral part of the tools and systems that are providing solutions to today’s societal challenges—including challenges related to health, aging, education, societal participation, sustainability, and intelligent transportation. Media and multimedia have evolved from collections and communication into core enablers of interactive and cooperative applications at the heart of society.