Focused on the refugee communities and the lack of education around emerging technology, Bridging the Gap is a collaboration between the University of Utah’s College of Architecture and Planning (CAP), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Open Documentary Lab (ODL). To address the needs of displaced populations, the project creates and presents VR modules to newly arrived refugees at Cultural Orientation meetings at the IRC.
The project to date has interacted with over 500 IRC clients ranging from West Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia to hold creative space and exposure to new tools. This increases digital literacy within the community at the intersection of social design and emerging technology. It also allows newly arrived clients to learn at their own pace and bypass the trauma they may feel from being in new public spaces.
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The project to date has interacted with over 500 IRC clients ranging from West Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia to hold creative space and exposure to new tools. This increases digital literacy within the community at the intersection of social design and emerging technology. It also allows newly arrived clients to learn at their own pace and bypass the trauma they may feel from being in new public spaces.
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