Just the other day, Minister Kofe framed their perspective on the [campaign] to us as akin to a terminal cancer diagnosis, in that having limited time “forces you to think about what’s important.”
It’s incredibly sad, but that’s very much the position they are in. Making the most of the time they have left to make the onset of loss as manageable as possible.
Who worked on the project and for how long?
Our working group on this is not what you would call a typical campaign team: Tuvaluan ministers for trade, foreign affairs and justice worked alongside Accenture Song, our Sustainability Studio and our Metaverse Continuum business group. This team worked alongside our production partner Collider to faithfully recreate the island of Te Afualiku—the first island in Tuvalu [expected] to be submerged by rising sea levels.
For launch, we teamed up with Thrive PR to communicate the message to media outlets. We began our relationship with the Tuvaluan government in early 2022.
What prompted the use of the metaverse as a potential solution?
The promise the metaverse offers is a degree of security and permanence in the way we used to ascribe those values to physical land, which is tragic in and of itself. And when we talk about the metaverse as an alternative to a physical home, it’s shocking for anyone to contemplate.
Despite the excitement surrounding the metaverse in recent years, Tuvalu recognizes that the realization of a fully interconnected metaverse will require significant progress in hardware, software and networking infrastructure. Out of necessity, both are being developed in tandem.
Embarking on The First Digital Nation is something Tuvalu must start as they have exhausted other alternatives. It does provide immediate value for Tuvalu. It’s a pragmatic step to help Tuvalu argue for sovereignty and nationhood and its permanence as a nation. Digitizing provides real support and connection for displaced citizens and also in the event of natural disasters.
What challenges did you encounter in making this project a reality?
There were many challenges bringing this work to life. Saving the sovereignty of a nation is a complex thing to navigate. There are many moving parts, and we spent a lot of time considering the best approach to finding a simple and emotive way to communicate that to the global audience at COP27.