聯合國正積極采用虛擬現實技術，借以提升人們對全球重要問題的意識。聯合國已和Vrse.works共同制作了三部虛擬現實短片：《錫德拉灣上的云》，《格雷斯之波》和《母親之翼》。

《母親之翼》講述了一名巴勒斯坦母親的故事，2014年以色列加沙沖突中，她的兩個幼子因所在學校遭到轟炸而喪生。這部短片今日在翠貝卡電影節上放映。

聯合國高級顧問蓋博?歐羅拉與Vrse.works合作制作了這三部影片，他說一開始想用傳統視頻方式講這些故事，后來發現虛擬現實增強了浸入故事的體驗。

“聯合國之所以迅速采用虛擬現實手段，就是想把各種因素整合起來，通過技術提升人們對全球問題和挑戰的意識，”歐羅拉說，“在某種程度上，這對我們來說是一場革命；從另一方面看其實就是通過創新手段擴大影響力。”

歐羅拉說，虛擬現實可以更好地呈現許多全球大事的復雜性。

“要達到完美呈現需要耗費大量精力和資源，然而這些都是有限的，所以我們只選一些較為緊迫、時間和地點上都有更重要的議題，”歐羅拉說。

他說《錫德拉灣上的云》就是近距離畫面展示攝人心魄場景的例子。

“在人們都在新聞中關注宏觀層面的敘利亞危機時，我們通過集中刻畫敘利亞及周邊國家危機中一個女孩的故事，為觀眾講述了一個深刻又扣人心弦的故事。”歐羅拉說道。

《格雷斯之波》則是關于一名利比亞女性在埃博拉疫情肆虐后幫助他人戰勝病毒的故事。

除了翠貝卡電影節，這三部虛擬現實影片也在圣丹斯和柏林電影節上進行了展映，也在中國大連及達沃斯的世界經濟論壇上放映。聯合國不僅借助虛擬現實向數千名決策者直接傳遞信息，在資金募集時也運用了谷歌Cardboard的基礎虛擬現實技術。

“我們已經把聯合國兒童基金會的街頭募捐設備（設備攜帶留言板并可對街頭捐贈者講話）投放到40個國家，簡易頭盔裝置可為街頭捐贈者播放時長2分鐘的短片，”歐羅拉說。

內部數據顯示，人們看過影片之后，捐贈率由十二分之一上升至了六分之一，也就是說人們的捐贈比例翻了一倍。不僅如此，Arora還說捐贈平均額也上升了10%，意味著不但人們的捐贈頻率增加，捐贈金額也在增加。

“人們看過影片后，我聽到最多的反饋就是目光交流有強大的力量”，歐羅拉說，“在虛擬現實中與某人對視時，你會感覺跟影片中的人產生某種聯系。這與看普通電影或視頻不一樣，你不會移開目光。”

根據虛擬現實研究公司Greenlight VR的調查，移動虛擬現實頭盔市場預計會從2016年100萬增長到到2025年的1.22億，接線式頭盔將從2016年100萬增加到2025年的1360萬。三星于去年秋季發布了Gear VR，臉書今年3月發布了Oculus Rift，此外HTC在4月推出Vive，今年10月索尼的PlayStation VR也即將問世。

“隨著虛擬現實技術在生活中越來越普及，無論在游戲、娛樂還是教育方面，我們都可以通過影片去影響更多人，”歐羅拉說，“我們的電影在Vrse的iPhone和安卓APP上都可以免費下載，借此可以把電影呈現給每一個虛擬現實頭盔用戶。沉浸式體驗很大程度上會受頭盔設備的功能限制，但我們會努力影響更多人，可用設備越來越多也很令人興奮。”（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審校：夏林

Global crises such as the Syrian refugee situation are brought to life through short VR films.

The United Nations has embraced virtual reality as a new way to raise awareness about the plights of human beings around the world. The UN has created a trio of short VR films with Vrse.works:Clouds Over Sidra, Waves of Grace, and My Mother’s Wing.

My Mother’s Wing follows a Palestinian mother who lost two young sons in a school shelled by Israel during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict. The short film is being featured today at the Tribeca Film Festival.

UN senior adviser Gabo Arora, who created the three films with Vrse.works, says he previously explored these types of stories through conventional video. But virtual reality adds another level of immersion to the storytelling.

“The leap into virtual reality was really a constellation of factors coming together to bring this technology to help sensitize people to the challenges we work with throughout the world,” Arora says. “In some ways it’s a revolution for us; in other ways, it’s just a way to drive impact in new and innovative ways.”

Arora says virtual reality can help convey the complexity of many important stories around the world.

“We have limited means and limited resources to do so, so we choose to prioritize pressing issues that have some sense of urgency and an important notion of time and place,” Arora says.

He points to Clouds Over Sidra as an example of showing an intimate picture of an overwhelming situation.

“By concentrating on the story of one girl in the overwhelming context of the crisis in Syria and neighboring countries, we are able to tell a compelling story that is meaningful to viewers at a time when they are already focused on the broader issue in the news,” Arora says.

Waves of Grace explores a Liberian woman’s post-Ebola quest to help others recover from the virus.

In addition to the Tribeca Film Festival, these three VR films have been shown at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals, as well as the World Economic Forum in Davos and Dalian, China. Beyond reaching thousands of decision-makers directly through VR, the UN has also incorporated the very basic Google Cardboard VR technology into fundraising.

“We have equipped UNICEF street fundraisers (the ones that carry clipboards and speak to potential donors on the street) in 40 countries with inexpensive headsets to show an abbreviated, two-minute version of the film to potential donors on the street,” Arora says.

Internal data shows that the rate of donation when people have seen the films increases to 1 in 6 from 1 in 12, effectively doubling the rate of people who take action. On top of that, Arora says average donations have gone up by 10%, which means that not only are people giving more often but they are giving more.

“One of the things I hear a lot after someone has watched the film is that how powerful eye contact is,” Arora says. “When you look someone in the eye in virtual reality, you feel like you are connecting in a way that you do not in film. Unlike in film and video, you can’t look away.”

According to research firm Greenlight VR, mobile VR headsets are expected to increase from 1 million in 2016 to 122 million by 2025, while tethered VR headsets are forecast to grow from 1 million in 2016 to 13.6 million by 2025. Samsung launched Gear VR last fall, Facebook launched Oculus Rift in March, and HTC released Vive in April. Sony ships PlayStation VR this October.

“As VR becomes more prevalent in other parts of life, be it in gaming, entertainment, or educational uses, we can have more impact with more people through our films,” Arora says. “Since our films are available for free download on Vrse’s iPhone and Android apps, we can get our films into the hands of each and every VR headset user. The immersiveness of the experience depends a lot on the sophistication of the headset, but we aim for a wide impact and are excited about the increased availability of devices.”