_Project Syria

According to a joint statement issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF last August, one million children have already been forced to flee Syria since the start of the country’s civil war. Some news reports indicate that children are actually being specifically targeted in the violence. Initially commissioned by Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab of The World Economic Forum, Project Syria uses new virtual reality technologies to put the audience “on scene” and experience the plight of these children in a truly visceral way.

The first scene replicates a moment on a busy street corner in the Aleppo district of Syria. In the middle of song, a rocket hits and dust and debris fly everywhere. The second scene dissolves to a refugee camp in which the viewer experiences being in the center of a camp as it grows exponentially in a representation that parallels the real story of how the extraordinary number of refugees from Syria fleeing their homeland have had to take refuge in camps. All elements are drawn from actual audio, video and photographs taken on scene.

Utilizing the real time graphics of the Unity game engine and sense of presence evoked through high resolution virtual reality goggles and compelling audio, Project Syria takes the audience to the real events as they transpire.