Extended Reality

Voice Our Future

Summer – Fall 2020

ARTECHOUSE x UN75

For the United Nation’s 75th anniversary, ARTECHOUSE and the United Nations Foundation partnered for this unprecedented, extended reality (XR) experience inspired by the UN75 initiative to crowdsource priorities and solutions for a refreshed vision of the future — learn from the past, deepen your understanding of the present, and add your unique voice to the dialogue for the future we all want.

Voice Our Future was available through the free ARTECHOUSE XR app, connecting us all by transforming individual messages into an ever-evolving, collective new world. Users were inspired to pause, reflect and add their unique voice to the global conversation.

Then

The lessons we’ve learned

Television has been the most impactful invention of the 20th century for information dissemination and global discourse. Using this as an anchor, this segment summons a multitude of television sets where one can click on them to reflect on some of the key messages and lessons from the past around topics of peace, progress, solidarity and global partnership. Quotes from leaders like Eleanor Roosevelt, Kofi Annan, Malala Youzafsai and Greta Thunberg are featured.

Now

The voice within you

Using the most defining technologies of today, this segment shifts the story toward the user. Internet and mobile technologies, AI and facial recognition are all highlighted as the camera is now turned to the user, and his/her/their face will become a palette for a narrative art activation that will help the user find their voice. 

Next

The future we all want

Utilizing natural language processing (NLP) the user can experience how one’s voice can make an impact by adding his/her/their own message to help grow the future we want. As the user is invited to plant the seeds of the future with their own voice, a forest grows, creating a message-generated ecosystem imagined in seventeen colors to correspond to UN’s seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).



Download the free ARTECHOUSE extended reality app



About #UN75

“As the UN marks its 75th anniversary amid rising global turbulence, we need fresh ideas and perspectives to solve our collective challenges and ensure a more equitable future,” said Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the UN Foundation. “I am delighted that our collaboration with ARTECHOUSE, supported by Verizon, is giving us an imaginative way to experience the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals and the power of collective action through art and technology as we celebrate this landmark occasion.”

Users can further the reach of their voices by completing the UN75 survey, helping to inform the UN’s thinking and priorities. Reflections from both the app and the survey will contribute to a truly global picture of a world where we all thrive. 


This project is part of the #UN75 anniversary celebrations and supported by Verizon.