UN SDG Action Campaign

SDGs clearly present at World Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha, Qatar

Doha, Qatar: 14-16 November, 2017

The SDGs were a key focus for global education actors when they gathered at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha.

Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, Chairperson of the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation and one of seventeen United Nations Secretary-General SDG Advocates, hosted and attended the Summit where world leaders called for urgent action to help young refugees and internally displaced youths. With more than 260 million children and young people out of school today, and only one per cent of young refugees able to access higher education, there were warnings that the SDGs will not be achieved if young people are denied quality education.

The EAA Foundation signed several new partnerships at the event, part of its commitment to address the global education crisis and enroll 10 million out-of-school children.

© WISE/ NigelDownes –
HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana

During the high-level plenary (watch here), the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is Co-Chair of SDG Advocates, told the WISE audience: “The spectre of tens and tens of millions of young refugees growing up without the needed skills to create a meaningful life for themselves is a dangerous one. What do we expect them to do? What opportunities are available to them? How competitive can they be in this global economy? These are questions that must elicit a concerted and calculated response from the world’s leaders.”

Mr. Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management said: “Tens of millions of children are deprived of education. We cannot afford lost generations. No single child should be left behind. It is our moral duty to do more.”

The SDGs were also visible at the UN SDG Action Campaign booth, located in the EAA Foundation exhibition space. Visitors could learn more about the Campaign’s work and could show their commitment to the SDGs by obtaining stickers and taking selfies with the goals. By taking the MY World 2030 survey, which polls top SDG priorities and citizen perceptions on implementation progress, they could consider the SDGs in relation to their own lives. Through the use of virtual reality, attendees of the Summit were also able to step into the shoes of children affected by emergencies, seeing first-hand the ways an interruption to education can stymie young people’s progress. The Campaign showed the 360’ films, Ground Beneath Her and Clouds Over Sidra, which showcase young girls affected by the earthquake in Nepal, and the Syrian Crisis respectively.

“MY World and UNVR are not only tools to use with young people in education settings to capture the realities of young people though data and storytelling, but also amazing tools for use in the classroom,” said Ms. Kristin Gutekunst, who represented the UN SDG Action Campaign at the forum. “MY World helps young people learn the language of the SDGs and understand how they manifest in their own lives. UNVR helps them understand the complex interaction of the SDGs in different settings, and also inspires a connection to people across the world, sponsoring a sense of global connection.”

Immersive exhibition brings delegates closer than ever to refugees, displaced, and migrants during UNGA

The 71st regular session of the United Nations General Assembly met this past September, which also coincided with the High Level Meeting on Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. In an effort to raise the voices are those most in danger of being left behind, the UN SDG Action Campaign brought two immersive technology experiences to the UN Secretariat Building, highlighting some of the most complex global challenges the UN faces. The particular focus on refugees, displaced people, and migrants allowed diplomats direct access and a deeper understanding of their everyday realities.

Haider al Abadi, Prime Minister of Iraq speaking to a young boy displaced from Mosul

Ewan MacGregor, Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF poses with young girl he met on his last visit to Erbil

Above: Haider al Abadi, Prime Minister of Iraq speaking to Waleed, a young boy displaced from Mosul by violence now living in the Harsham IDP Camp. Below: Ewan MacGregor, Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF poses with Mirna, young girl he met on his last visit to the Camp in Erbil.

The United Nations Virtual Reality film series and Portals immersive experiences enables people to access locations and situations they would otherwise never experience, providing context for some of the most complex issues the UN is striving to mitigate. By doing so, the Campaign hopes it will help transform understanding of critical global issues that must be addressed in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals into a medium that is instantly empathetic and universally relatable.

Liliane Plouemen, Minister Foriegn Trade and Development Cooperation, Netherlands

Anifa Aman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia

Throughout the course of the week, Delegates were able to watch several films on the newly launched UNVR app (available at www.UNVR.org) about the everyday realities of refugees. Filmed in the Zaatari Camp in Jordan, Clouds Over Sidra recounts the new normal for a young girl from Syria, and Born Into Exile by UNFPA highlights the importance of providing safe births for mothers, revealing the amazing statistic that zero mothers have been lost at the camp. Beyond the Lake recounts the harrowing experience of a woman escaping violence in Burundi who is able to start a new life in the DRC through the support of UN Women safe spaces. UNOCHA also previewed Home, a new film documenting the UN Secretary-General’s humanitarian tour, highlighting the plight of refugees living in Lebanon, Syria and the DRC.

Delegates further had the opportunity to have full-body conversations with individuals living these realities, in real time, through the UN Portal, curated by the Campaign, Shared_Studios, and Bridges of Understanding. It is part of an international project with countless locations around the world by Shared_Studios. The UN Portal connected to the Harsham IDP Camp in Erbil, curated by UNICEF Iraq, allowing delegates to speak to young Iraqis displaced by fighting in Mosul. It also connected to a refugee resettlement home outside of Berlin, where delegates could speak to people from Chad, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Syria in varying stages of asylum seeking, and to young people at the University of Kabul in Afghanistan with Turquoise Mountain Institute. In the afternoons, the UN Portal connected to Mexico City with an NGO called Proyecto Habesha that is supporting Syrian refugees in coordinates higher education degrees in Mexico.

Bert Koenders, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands

Cristina Gallach, Under Secretary-General for the UN Department of Public Information

Ahmad Alhendawi, UN Special Envoy for Youth

Colleagues from UN Security and Safety

Youth from China

http://www.sharedstudios.com/mexico/

This exhibition was made possible through the political support of the Government of the Netherlands, the Government of Germany, the Government of Iraq, and the UN Department of Information.

The Campaign also shared the space with UNICEF’s Time Machine, an installation that translating childhood memories from data into unique sound – giving visitors and delegates attending the UNGA an opportunity to understand the data on children currently available and areas that fall short.

Be one of the first to download new VR Film: “Waves of Grace”!

It is our pleasure to announce the release of our next Virtual Reality film: Waves of Grace, now available for Virtual Reality headsets and for use with/without google cardboard on Android and iOS mobile phone platforms through the Vrse.works App.

Waves of Grace captures a young woman’s tale of love, loss, and rebirth amid the Ebola epidemic. In the film we accompany Decontee Davis, a native of West Point, Liberia, as she guides us through the streets of her township, into schools, hospitals, abandoned buildings and burial grounds. She finds solace by using her immunity to help patients, care for those orphaned, fight stigma, and in the faith of forgiveness. The film draws attention to the lingering effects of the Ebola virus and supports the Secretary-General’s push for continued attention and support to the Ebola response. It was originally prescreened at the United Nations Secretary-General’s International Ebola Recovery Conference, hosted to ensure affected countries receive the support they need to end the epidemic and continue countries on the path to recovery.

Waves of Grace is the second VR film of the UN Virtual Reality and Vulnerable Groups Series, result of a collaboration between the United Nations Millennium Campaign and Vrse.Works – with the additional support of Vice Media for this film – and co-created by Gabo Arora and Chris Milk. The series attempts to draw attention to the world’s most pressing challenges and to bring the voices of vulnerable groups directly to decision makers. In using Virtual Reality technology, the aim is to create deeper understanding and empathy and to inspire action towards these causes. The first film, Clouds Over Sidra has met with international acclaim, winning Best Interactive Award at the Sheffield Doc/Fest.

UN_LIB_14 — Burial scene from Waves of Grace – Vrse.works

DOWNLOAD NOW!

With the Samsung Gear VR and Samsung Phone: Download Vrse.works in the Oculus Home Store once using the headset
With iOS system or Android Phone using Google Cardboard: Download the Works App.
With iOS system or Android Phone without Google Cardboard: Download the Works App.

To learn more about the UN’s Ebola response, please visit: http://ebolaresponse.un.org/

Media contact: Kristin.gutekunst@undp.org

Actor Jeffrey Wright with UNMC team members Kristin & Alice at the UN pre-screening event (c) Ally Gutekunst

Some of the great press already coming out:

World Economic Forum – Chris Milk & Gabo Arora – “Our overarching goal is to make virtual reality a catalyst for real-world change, solving the problems of today while showing just how relevant the principles of the 1945 UN Charter continue to be for all of us.”
Ebola Deeply – Austin Schiano & Kristin Gutekunst – “Moving through the streets of West Point, the despair, death and displacement left by Ebola permeates the community, but this is a film about all of humanity: there are flashes of laughter and glimpses of everyday normality. Virtual reality’s unique viewing leaves no space to ignore anything. The effect of Ebola on an already fragile society is clear: for many who have never been or may never go to Liberia, the film is a powerful, intimate second-best.”
Wired – Angela Watercutter – “AN INTENSE NEW virtual reality film isn’t a documentary so much as it is a prayer; its lector is a young Liberian woman named Decontee Davis, and her benediction is a plea for help to rebuild her country after Ebola ravaged it in 2014.”
The Creators Project – Kevin Holmes – “Both [Clouds Over Sidra and Waves of Grace] are powerful and emotive pieces of filmmaking, and the transportive nature of virtual reality means the they’re able to elicit a degree of empathy and agency that wouldn’t be apparent in a conventional film. Once you take the headset off, it takes a moment to adjust, not just because a moment ago you were in a virtual Liberia, but also because you just shared someone’s experience on a very personal, visceral level.”
Thomson Reuters Foundation – Kieran Guilbert “A virtual reality film aims to draw attention to prejudice towards Ebola survivors by guiding viewers through the life of a woman in Liberia who uses her immunity to help others affected by the disease, the creators said on Tuesday.
Wall Street Journal Speakeasy – John Jurgenson – “In terms of technology, the first baseline is that we’re available through the Vrse app on every virtual reality headset. But if you don’t have that, you can use “magic window” mode on your phone [depending on the device], which makes your phone look like a window into a virtual reality world. And with the embeddable web player, you can just scroll around using your mouse. We’re trying to help people take the baby steps into the fullest, most immersive experience possible.”
Wired UK – James Temperton – “But ultimately this isn’t a film about despair, it is a film about hope — a hope that things can get better.”
Inc.com – Scott Hartley – “Technology has the power to alienate, to distract, and to wedge its notification-rich self into each of our previously blissful under-connected worlds. But it has, in equal part, the ability to connect us, to make us more human, and to build empathy between us. Arora’s vision with UNVR is to shape the medium of virtual reality, and foster our enhanced humanity.”
Economic Voice – “Waves of Grace calls attention to the formidable obstacles that Ebola survivors still face, despite having survived and recovered from the disease. The film transports viewers to West Point, the most populous slum in the capital of Liberia, and follows the experience of Decontee Davis, an Ebola survivor who uses her immunity to help others affected by the disease.”

UNMC screens sneak preview of new Virtual Reality film: Waves of Grace

The United Nations Millennium Campaign screened a sneak preview of their latest Virtual Reality film, Waves of Grace on Friday 10 July at the United Nations. Its premier was planned in conjunction with the United Nations Secretary-General’s International Ebola Recovery Conference, hosted to ensure affected countries receive the support they need to end the epidemic and continue countries on the path to recovery. Waves of Grace follows a young woman’s struggle for life amid the Ebola epidemic. The movie is the result of collaboration between the UN Millennium Campaign, Vrse.works and Vice Media, and was created to call attention to the obstacles faced by Ebola survivors. The movie transports viewers to West Point, Liberia and follows the experience of Decontee Davis, an Ebola survivor who uses her immunity to help others affected by the disease. The VR experience captures the Liberian tragedy from illness to recovery, mourning to perseverance. It is part of a larger initiative of the United Nations Millennium Campaign to fight donor fatigue on the world’s most pressing challenges.

UNMC Colleagues Kristin & Alice with actor Jeffrey Wright

“Development achievements can be quickly reversed due to crises such as the Ebola epidemic” said Mitchell Toomey, Director of the UN Millennium Campaign. “If the world does not focus on helping the most vulnerable and building resiliency in recovering communities, development goals and targets will not be met. Thus it is hoped that this film may aid the United Nations’ efforts to draw attention to the lasting impact of the Ebola crisis, as well as the need for continued support for those affected by the disease.”

“The Ebola crisis has captivated the world in its devastating effects over the last year and a half. However, the individual stories behind the numbers are often not told. Decontee’s story captures the strife and spirit of the communities across West Africa in the wake of the Ebola epidemic. It is hoped that this second VR experience will promote greater understanding of the socio-economic impact of the disease and empathy for those who continue to overcome it.” said Gabo Arora, co-creator of the film and Senior Advisor for the UN Millennium Campaign.

The film will be formally launched soon on the VRSE App. To sign up for more information on the Virtual Reality please visit: www.vr4dev.org. Stay tuned! Continue reading “UNMC screens sneak preview of new Virtual Reality film: Waves of Grace”