Virtual Reality for Healing Mother Earth and Ourselves: Engaging with Emerging Technology to Spark Social Transformation

Can virtual reality (VR) technology help create strong, meaningful connections for empathy or is it a new medium exacerbating current systems of inequality? Join us in this conversation with Myriam Hernández as she shares her experience using VR as a tool to amplify indigenous wisdom and build pathways for care and behavioral change.

‌Myriam Hernández is a Mexican immersive storyteller and an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity (2022). She works at the intersection of virtual reality, ethics, and social change. Her VR projects have been showcased at film festivals, community centers, and international decision-making events worldwide. With over 10 years of experience in community development, she also holds a master's degree in Social Policy from the London School of Economics.

Learning Objectives

• To understand the purpose of immersive storytelling and the process of creating GAWI, a VR experience co-created with indigenous communities in northern Mexico.
• Examine the importance and ethics of co-creation with vulnerable populations.
• Share ideas about how virtual reality can be a tool for social change