CICR Blog

Using Virtual Reality to Drive Public Engagement

Just because a technology exists doesn’t mean it should be used—or that it will be effective—so the International Committee of the Red Cross is joined up with Professor of Behavioral Philanthropy, Giuseppe Ugazio, to understand more about VR’s unique potential as a fundraising tool. While people in general might feel compelled to help the someone who is right in front of them, “they don’t always feel morally obliged to help someone in a far off, distant land,” says Ugazio. “This bias is something we know exists, and virtual reality could be a very good tool to combat this because VR brings people right where we need them.” A VR experience is not the answer for everyone in every situation, nor will it replace other fundraising techniques. Rather, Ugazio says, it will augment what the ICRC is already doing.

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