The film “Safe Schools: Nepal” which bought together full-service digital agency Rain and children's charity Theirworld is being used as part of the charity’s new #SafeSchools campaign. It captures 360-degree video and audio from Nepal which transports and immerses the viewer into the countries incredible landscape, to experience the earthquake’s continued first hand impact and to hear the challenges children face getting to school, the shocking condition of the temporary schools and the heartbreaking stories of children who have been left out of school.
This release of the film is timed to mark one year from the tragic Nepal earthquake, and as part of the #SafeSchools campaign. “Safe Schools: Nepal” highlights the tragic consequences for children in Nepal, and around the world who are exposed to trafficking, early marriage, child labor because their education is neglected in the aftermath of an emergency. In 2015, humanitarian emergencies and crisis affected the education of more than 80 million children and young people, yet less than 2% of humanitarian aid went to get children back into a safe school. The campaign calls on world leaders attending the first ever World Humanitarian Summit to commit to launch a news fund that ensures children return to school quickly in the aftermath of an emergency.
President of Theirworld, Sarah Brown said: “This extraordinary film transports the viewer to Nepal into the heart of the earthquake aftermath to see and hear from children at just a fingertips reach. You can’t fail to be moved by their resilience and determination to return to school and escape the layers of exploitation. We must urge world leaders to deliver this promised humanitarian fund for education in emergencies which will be able to act fast in the future to meet this need.”
Rain partnered with Christian Stephen, the award-winning conflict journalist and Co-Founder/ Creative Director of Freelance Society and The Uprising Creative’s virtual reality studio VEHICLEvr to bring the film to life. Designed for viewing on any VR device or headset, the user experience is also seamless on desktop and mobile platforms like YouTube 360. In addition to being shared across Thierworld’s social channels, the video is being distributed by YouTube 360 for desktop, mobile, and Cardboard; Milk VR for Samsung Gear VR; and Littlstar for desktop, mobile, Cardboard, and AppleTV.
CEO of Rain, Brian Edelman said: “Virtual Reality is a new frontier for storytelling. It's arriving in a big way and beginning to reach the consumer from a variety of touch points. It's not just through a headset which most people can't afford. Knowing that, we wanted to take it a step further. VR is another aid to democratize learning, and we’re leveraging that side of the technology to tell this story and inspire people to take action."
Jeff Nicholas, Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director at The Uprising Creative and VEHICLEvr, said virtual reality was the only medium that could have done this content justice: “VR offers a deeply intimate method of storytelling that creates a unique connection with the viewer. It’s the perfect medium for this kind of story, touching hearts and minds in a way that is only rivaled by actually visiting Nepal in person. It’s powerful and creates a lasting impression far beyond what can be achieved in traditional media.”
Freelance Society’s Christian Stephen commented on the creative vision and reason behind creating this film: "We chose this project because we’re passionate about education, and not in the saccharine way that most advocate. We went because we care, we stayed because we wanted to capture, and we returned in order to galvanize those with eyes to see and ears to hear. Our film exists to exhort those changing the nation of Nepal, challenge those who are hesitant, and conjure emotion in those who would care."
