One thing is certain. Wars are devastating; they rip families apart and can destroy whole cities. Although these highly-stressful zones are no place for children, they have become a “playground” for more than 165 million kids. Trapped in conflict-affected areas, children living there are confronted with violence, fear, and exploitation.
Committed to helping those affected by armed conflict, the International Committee of the Red Cross joined forces with digital innovation agency Nedd and created an AR app that shows users the devastating effects of wars, without putting them in danger. The only thing they need to do is Enter the Room.
The “Enter the Room” app brings the war to your doorstep and shows you just a small part of the terrible life that the children and their families from such areas have to endure day by day.
The virtual experience starts in real life and can be gone through no matter where you are. The app uses your phone’s camera and works as a futuristic key that unlocks a world torn apart by armed violence. Once activated, a virtual portal appears in front of you, luring you to cross its threshold and explore a room of one little girl who lives in a conflict zone, as if you were there.
Throughout the experience, you are guided by the little girl who shares, step by step, the trauma of war and how armed conflict changed her life and worsened her health condition. The virtual scene that unfolds in front of your eyes lasts only for a few minutes but compresses, in a series of haunting visuals, four years of the child’s horrid life.
“Conflict has devastating impacts on communities, and especially on children. We hope the story told through this immersive app will give people new insights into the realities of war,” said Peter Maurer, President of the ICRC. “It is a vivid reminder of how urban warfare destroys children’s bedrooms, their homes, and – tragically – their lives,” he added.
Prior to launching the “Enter the Room” app, the NGO released “I Saw My City Die,” an incredibly moving campaign that summarizes the voices of those living in conflict zones. The project was born out of the organization’s will to highlight the brutal impacts of this century’s urban wars.
Although their statements are touching, words seem not to be enough to generate empathy towards the people who have to live in these terrible zones. Here’s where “Enter the Room” comes in, complementing the victims’ testimonials by virtually sending users into a war-torn city where they can explore, in maximum safety, the chaos that overtakes these war zones.
To create the illusion of a fictional portal, the Paris-based agency used the “portal effect,” which relies on Apple’s ARKit technology. By combining AR with 3D audio, the creatives managed to craft an experience that feels almost real. The app is compatible with iOS only and is free to download via the App Store.
The brutal adventure ends with an invitation from the Red Cross to access its website and discover more about the kids living in conflict zones and what can be done to help them. Have you dared to try the app out? Let us know in the comments!
