The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has used Near-Life’s immersive content platform to develop and deploy immersive VR learning experiences as part of its groundbreaking resettlement program. The award winning project has been created in collaboration with the University of Utah’s College of Architecture and Planning and MIT’s Open Documentary Lab and has been designed to support refugees in the United States.
Real-world scenarios
The IRC has worked to enhance its cultural orientation program with immersive VR simulations that allow refugees to experience real-world scenarios in a low-pressure, self-paced environment. These modules cover essential aspects of resettlement, including navigating public transportation, visiting a doctor’s office, understanding financial systems, and adapting to American school environments.
Initially piloted at the IRC’s Salt Lake City office, the project has now expanded nationally through Switchboard: a project providing technical and training assistance to refugee service providers across the U.S.. Data from early implementations indicate strong engagement, with hundreds of newcomers already receiving VR-based support via content built using Near-Life’s interactive authoring tool.
The response from survey participants to the innovative delivery method has been positive. More than 60% of those surveyed reported they would value using VR in multiple settings to aid their transition.
Key innovation
A key innovation of the initiative is a co-creation approach, which places refugees at the center of the design process. Former refugees worked alongside university design students and resettlement experts to shape content, ensuring that the VR scenarios created in Near-Life reflected real-world challenges and community needs. This participatory design model has already led to the development of 15 custom VR modules, with new scenarios being continuously added based on user feedback.
The program’s success has garnered widespread recognition, winning Gold and Silver Anthem Awards for Innovation in Humanitarian Services and being featured at leading industry events such as SIGGRAPH and Games for Change. Looking ahead, the IRC aims to expand VR adoption within resettlement services, with plans to invest further in immersive hardware as well as additional Near-Life powered interactive content to support communities across the U.S. – and beyond.
With the integration of Near-Life’s advanced interactive technology, this initiative is redefining how digital learning tools can support refugee integration, making critical information more memorable and engaging..
IRC project lead Krysti Nellermore stated that:
“We’ve seen a fantastic response from our immersive content work. It’s really got people engaged.”
Adding that,
“The plan now is to build on our success and use Near-Life’s content creation tool to expand our interactive content library and capitalize on the positive feedback received so far.”
Near-Life founder Mike Todd also added:
“Near-Life’s origins are in humanitarian response and it’s an area we’ve continued to engage with. It’s fantastic to be able to play a small part in supporting the pioneering work of IRC and the University of Utah and to see them use our authoring tool in such original and creative ways.”
For more information on the IRC’s pioneering VR work visit Switchboard.