(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
While we in the Nordic countries are currently discussing the possibility that private individuals can "sponsor" refugees and thus let a larger part of civil society get involved in – some will take responsibility for – the refugee situation, something has already been done in Canada. This is where citizens can finance the fact that refugees from Syria in particular can be housed and integrated into Canadian society, which has meant that a residence and work permit has so far been obtained for 11 Syrians in Canada.
At the Toronto Film Festival in mid-September, a new initiative in this Canadian model was presented. "The Sidra Project" consists of an app for mobile phones, which contains a number of virtual reality films to make Westerners aware of the situation of the Syrians and an "action" button that makes it easier to get involved. It can be mentoring a refugee, arranging film screenings, donating money, teaching English, becoming a volunteer or otherwise taking part in the work of housing and integrating refugees into Canadian society. The UN is the official sender behind the app, and the intention is to build empathy between local citizens and refugees, which will hopefully help to strengthen civilian efforts in Canada. And this is the first time the UN has embarked on a virtual reality production, explains creative director Gabo Arora as I meet him in Toronto:
“Usually we have some numbers and statistics that we try to pass on. Maybe we will use a celebrity to come up with a testimonial, but with the virtual reality movies we can do something completely different. The essence of a virtual reality movie is that you can very quickly move people to a different place in the world and give them an idea of how life is lived there. This really fits well with what we are trying to communicate in the UN, ”says Gabo Arora.
This evening, more than 40 people were invited inside a conference room in central Toronto. In the room are a number of office chairs and on each chair is a virtual reality glasses. You connect the mobile phone to the glasses, open the app and press play.
There is a risk that virtual reality will only become such with roller coaster trips and pornography.
Another place. I stand in front of a dusty landscape. A harsh sun strikes me. Some reddish rocks can be seen on the horizon. The sky is wide, few clouds pass by.
It's an impressive sight. I stand in the middle of the Jordanian earth. I look around. Turns your head, scans the landscape. I am in the filmed world other than the usual cinema experience. The picture envelops me. When I turn my head, I see other parts of the cinematic landscape. It gives a completely different degree of presence. With the virtual reality glasses on, I'm more likely to forget that I'm actually somewhere else. That I am physically staying in a conference room in Toronto and not on Jordanian soil. When you watch movies in the cinema, you can be distracted by the exit sign, the neighbor's popcorn dining or the shadows you can see on the wall. Inside the virtual reality glasses, there are no such distractions. Here is only you and the picture.
Now a sound is heard. A girl voice tells of a journey in which she and her family crossed the desert. From Syria to Jordan. From a normal life to a life in a refugee camp. The landscape fades out and a new image emerges; now i'm inside a home. Someone's home. Jackets hang on a hanger, mattresses are thrown on the floor. Turning my head in the direction of the sound, I spot the girl from whom the voice comes. It's 12-year-old Sidra, who sits there in the middle of the refugee camp and tells me about his life.
Listening to her narrative can be a little tricky. Maybe it's because this is the first time I've seen a virtual reality movie, but I can't help but be preoccupied with the image. It is especially effective when something happens. For example, when I'm in the middle of a football game and the girls start playing around me. Or when a man reaches out to me in the cafe. You want to take his hand. It is sensational to the brain. Suddenly I look down, and I had actually figured my legs would be there. But I am there only with the sight, (not yet) with the rest of the body. In turn, I am present as a fly on the wall. Small and flexible. I can be in confined spaces such as inside a stuffed car and yet experience a great deal of spatial freedom. It is approaching a whole different way of being in the world.
Get to eye level. As I take off my glasses and tell Gabo Arora about my experience, he smiles and nods understandably. Admittedly, he is deeply captivated by virtual reality, and is keen to explain why virtual reality is a landmark:
“There is always a hierarchy when we disseminate information about people from poorer regions. We are automatically placed higher up and in a way look a bit down at the people being communicated. But in the virtual-reality movies, there is another opportunity to catch up with other people. You feel what it would feel like to have dinner with your family. This media gives the experience in a completely different way that this could be me. I could be who they are. My life could be like theirs. It creates a completely different connection, a different kind of closeness and hopefully another level of empathy, ”says Arora, thus pointing out why the medium is so applicable to an institution like the UN. Arora also hopes that a project like Sidra Project can specify how virtual reality can be used for serious purposes:
«There is a risk that virtual reality will only become such with roller coaster trips and pornography. That is why I think it is hugely important to show that it also has a different potential. That it can be used for learning and for empathy. My dream is that when it becomes cheaper to produce these films, new content will always be created, also created by the people the films deal with. Then we will see a democratization of virtual reality, and then we can seriously say that technology can make us better people. ”
Merging realities. I can understand Arora's enthusiasm. Although virtual reality is really just a way to hack our senses, to use stereo images and binaural sound and thus be cheated to think that you are actually somewhere else, it works. This with the head being the camera. That when we move our head, it is equivalent to the camera changing viewpoint, which is hugely compelling. Even if the technology remains primitive. The actual wearing of the glasses is a clumsy feeling. They are heavy and cumbersome, as a cheap diving mask might be. In addition, it is difficult to set sharp so the image remains somewhat cloudy. But the technology will undoubtedly be gradually improved and thus even more compelling:
“The most important improvement is that it will be more smooth. That we should not wear clumsy glasses and look at cloudy images. I also think interactivity can contribute to something, though I think there are often downsides to 'pick your own story' structures. I believe more in interactivity such as touch through haptic suits, where other senses are activated, ”says Gabo Arora. And while haptic suits may sound pretty utopian, there's not a long way to go, according to Arora:
"I'm sure that in the not so distant future we can no longer distinguish between virtual reality and reality. It becomes so smooth that we no longer see a difference. This is the beginning of The Matrix. We all know that this is where we are headed. And that may be the biggest change in human consciousness, "reads the visionary assessment of the creative UN man.
