A GROUNDBREAKING VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE AND IMMERSIVE EXHIBITION TO COMMEMORATE THE 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GENOCIDE BY ISIS IN NORTHERN IRAQ.

PUTTING THE GENOCIDE BACK ON THE INTERNATIONAL AGENDA AND BRINGING ABOUT REAL CHANGE FOR YAZIDIS AND OTHER VICTIMS.

Background

The 3rd August 2019 marks the 5th anniversary of the mass atrocities perpetrated by ISIS in northern Iraq against the Yazidi people, Christians and other minority groups, which the United Nations has called a genocide.

Nearly five years later the genocide is ongoing. Over 3,000 women and children remain missing and not a single ISIS fighter has been prosecuted for crimes against the Yazidis. If we do not act now, we will witness these atrocities again.

To refocus the attention of the international community on the ongoing plight of the populations, an immersive exhibition entitled “Nobody’s Listening” will be launched simultaneously in Iraq and the United Kingdom on 1st August – 15th August 2019. The exhibition will travel to the UN headquarters in New York and Geneva, and to other cities around the world.

Virtual Reality Experience

The centrepiece of the exhibition will be a groundbreaking, interactive virtual reality (VR) installation, which is being co-produced with Al Jazeera.

This VR experience will reveal the past, present and the future of the Yazidi people. The viewer will be virtually transported to one of Sinjar’s Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp and guided by our main protagonist, Nura a young Yazidi woman who was abducted by ISIS and suffered sexual enslavement, among other violations. The experience will meet other characters: a male relative who escaped the massacre in Kocho, a female relative who escaped to Mount Sinjar, and an ISIS fighter explaining their motivations for joining ISIS and carrying out a genocide.

Using the latest in photogrammetry and virtual technology, Nura begins by telling us what life was like before 3rd August 2014 and takes us through the atrocities carried out by ISIS and what Yazidis hope for the future. An interactive piece, the VR experience will give our viewer a series of choices and challenges in deciding the fate of the Yazidis.

Immersive Exhibition Experience

An immersive exhibition is being developed to understand the wider aspects of the genocide. The exhibition aims to stimulate the public’s imagination and bring them closer to the reality of the genocide using virtual reality, augmented reality (AR), sculpture, painting and film. Lastly, we hope that the exhibition will inspire the viewer to take action and use social media to make pledges of commitment.

All equipment and artwork will be donated to the genocide memorial museum being built in Sinjar.

To partner or donate to this project please contact: info@nobodys-listening.com

Advocacy Aims

An advocacy campaign is being developed in consultation with leading global human rights organisations. It calls on individuals and governments to:

• Recognise the genocide;

• Hold ISIS fighters accountable;

• Rehabilitate the survivors;