Nobody's Listening - VR

About Nobody's Listening

Nobody's Listening is a groundbreaking Virtual Reality experience and immersive exhibition programme that commemorates the Yazidi genocide initiated by ISIS in the summer of 2014 in northern Iraq. Using cutting-edge Virtual Reality technology, photography and art, the exhibition explores the consequences of the genocidal campaign by ISIS – its devastating effect on persecuted communities and their cultural heritage.

Many people in society today are desensitized to human suffering because they are exposed through social media to evidence of extreme violence from conflicts around the world. This results in an empathy deficit, ironically at a time of a collective awakening to social justice. Nobody’s Listening uses innovative VR technology to evoke empathy, encouraging focused attention on stories which humanize victims of distant conflicts. Working closely with genocide survivors, activists from the affected communities and international human rights organizations, the VR experience integrates a human rights advocacy campaign that aims to build public awareness, and to refocus international attention on the need to hold ISIS to account for their crimes against Yazidis, Christians and other religious minorities.

The Nobody's Listening Virtual Reality Experience was premiered at the Parliament of Iraq on 8th December 2020 and the Nobody's Listening Immersive Exhibition was launched at the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe on 1st October 2021. It has since travelled to Brussels (2022) University of Nebraska at Omaha (2023) and the US Institute of Peace (2023-2024). Satellite VR demonstrations have been held in the United Kingdom at Ministerial-level conferences on human rights and in schools and universities. Additionally, Google Arts and Culture has created an online Nobody's Listening exhibition.

The Nobody's Listening Virtual Reality Experience was premiered at the Parliament of Iraq on 8th December 2020, and the Nobody's Listening Immersive Exhibition was launched at the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe on 1st October 2021. It has since traveled to Brussels (2022), the University of Nebraska at Omaha (2023), and the US Institute of Peace (2023-2024). Satellite VR demonstrations have been held in the United Kingdom at ministerial-level conferences on human rights and in schools and universities. Additionally, Google Arts and Culture has created an online Nobody's Listening exhibition.

Nobody's Listening has been made possible with the generous funding of The State of Baden-Wurttemberg, USAID, the US State Department, the UK Home Office, the Mayor of London, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and the US Institute of Peace.

Nobody’s Listening is a partnership between Yazda, Easy Tiger Creative and Upstream International. Curated and Produced by Ryan D’Souza.