Name of Project
Nobody’s listening
Country
Category
Date
2021
Facilitated/Produced by
Yazda, Easy Tiger Creative and Upstream International. Curated and Produced by Ryan D’Souza.
Description
Nobody’s Listening is a groundbreaking Virtual Reality experience and immersive exhibition programme curated by Ryan D’Souza 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.
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. A unique narrative enables the virtual reality users to hear, among others, from a young Yazidi woman who was abducted and suffered sexual enslavement by ISIS, from her brother, who survived a massacre, and from an ISIS fighter who attacked the village.
The Nobody’s Listening Virtual Reality Experience was premiered at the Parliament of Iraq in 2020 and the Nobody’s Listening Immersive Exhibition was launched in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2021. It has since travelled to Brussels (2022), the University of Nebraska in Omaha (2023), the US Institute of Peace (2023-2024) and Nairobi, Kenya (2023). 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 impact of the Nobody’s Listening VR has transcended the confines of traditional awareness campaigns. Advocacy trips with survivors to parliamentarians and foreign ministers have not only raised awareness but have led to governmental recognition of the Yazidi genocide. Furthermore, funds have been allocated for mental health support, acknowledging the long-lasting impact of trauma on survivors and affected communities.
The project has been funded by 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.
