Reimagining the Libraries: VR & AR as New Tools of Georgian Knowledge Hubs
Using technology to help understanding and empathy of personal trauma of Georgian Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Ukrainian refugees.
The Local Challenge
Library about Georgia is a safe haven for Georgian IDPs, who use this space to share and understand their experiences and historical circumstances. Recently they have welcomed a significant number of Ukrainian immigrants who arrived seeking a platform and discovered parallels with the experiences of Georgian IDPs. These people have been displaced due to regional conflicts with Russia and the alignment of experiences between them, underlining the universality of certain challenges, has made the library a natural, safe focal point for these displaced communities.
The Initiative
The traumas and experiences of those directly affected by war is real but there is a growing detachment and desensitisation among the general public in Tbilisi, which has resulted in a sense of isolation and neglect among those who have been directly impacted. The library has become a space to create memories using emerging technologies, with a combination of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology, enabling historical and personal storytelling to a broader audience.
What’s Next?
This initiative is vital to explain what conflict displacement means, to encourage care and understanding of the experiences of the affected and to show the broad reach of the impact of violence. The hope is to ensure that future generations are not only informed but are also empathetic to those who have experienced this life-changing trauma.
Contact theeuropechallenge@culturalfoundation.eu if you have any questions or want to be connected with the team behind the project.
