Raising awareness within the Belgian population about the reality of migrant families thanks to virtual reality.
enfance-en-exil.be/-
Context
The Belgian Red Cross wanted a tool that enabled raising awareness within the Belgian population about the reality lived by migrants before their arrival at reception centres.
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Solution
Reed proposed using virtual reality and the 360° video format to tell the story of the migration experience through the eyes of children, available both on the internet and by using virtual reality headsets
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The results
The tool has made it possible to reach the population living in the immediate vicinity around the centres and further afield thanks to the web platform and animations by the Red Cross around the country.
Strategy
Use the strength of 360° storytelling combined with 3D and real-life footage.
If virtual reality is an “empathy machine”, the codes need to be mastered for emotions to be triggered
We wanted to tell the story of the journey using animation codes based on testimonies collected during our exchanges with the families and couple them with real images. This transition allows us to tell the story of a journey for which no images exist and demonstrate that these families are just like all the others: in search of stability and security.
Production
Storytelling with strong key visuals
Therefore, we suggested the creation of a short 360° experience split into 2 parts:
The journey: The realities and dangers of migration for a family, told in 3D and based on interviews gathered.
Belgium: The reality of children in centres, children who play like others, dance and have fun together while waiting for a favourable response to their request.
Our team spent several weeks immersed in the centres to create a connection and find the “right” story.
To do so, we combined testimony from several families, some coming from Afghanistan and others from Iraq. However, 100% of the film scenes were told to us by the families.
Strong key visuals
We needed a visual that represented the idea of the project and an image for it to be shown on posters and flyers to be communicated at events. We worked on several tracks before deciding to focus on the visual of the swing, which was the most representative of our experience with the children.
We wanted to demonstrate the hope that is brought by feeling safe once again.
We wanted to demonstrate the hope that is brought by feeling safe once again.
The tool was first launched through a press conference, then used in the 22 Belgian centres, institutions, cinemas, music festivals, etc. More than 10,000 people as of 13 years old were able to live the experience. The project prompted constructive discussions and greater awareness within the population about the reality of migrating families.
Discover the experience below or visit the page for children in exile to discover the full set of communication elements
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