REM5 Studios finds niche in creating immersive films for humanitarian campaigns.

With the investment of billions of dollars over the past several decades, mass immunization efforts across the globe have made polio nearly nonexistent.

In Afghanistan and Pakistan, however, there are cases of wild polio, and variants of the viral disease are being discovered in several other countries, primarily in Africa. If not fully eradicated, within a decade, a resurgence of 200,000 new cases could happen annually, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

To draw awareness to the dangers of polio and its threat as a public health issue, top leaders at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a nonprofit partner of the GPEI founded by billionaire Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and his former wife and businesswoman, Melinda, sought new and fresh messaging platforms.

In previous years, the foundation would have funded trips for politicians and potential donors to witness firsthand the effects of polio in various parts of the globe. Strategies around effectiveness shifted, though, and finding a way to bring the frontline experience to potential donors and decision-makers was needed.

A Minnesota company's technology would become the tool to execute that vision.
In early 2023, creative minds at REM5 Studios, a St. Louis Park-based immersive and virtual reality development and experiences company, began conversations with staff at the foundation, widely regarded as one of the world's largest philanthropic organizations, to discuss such a product. With new technology, they discovered that they could virtually teleport people into an immersive experience and reignite support around eradicating polio.

Compared with television commercials, power point presentations and pamphlets, it would supercharge feelings of empathy and create action and change.
"You've seen the commercials," said REM5 director Brian Skalak. "For 28 cents a day you can change a life. We didn't want to do that."

With grant funding from the foundation and permission and access from government officials in Zambia, in southern Africa, REM5 innovators spent days filming content to create "Polio's Last Mile," an immersive and augmented reality video that follows volunteers in Zambia administering vaccines to children.

The video can be seen two-dimensionally on a computer screen, but was designed for viewing inside a VR headset. During the full immersive segment, with each head turn, the viewer sees a different angle of volunteers and villagers.

The film ends with a message from Bill Gates explaining why and how people should contribute to the cause. With polio roughly 99% reduced worldwide, the last mile refers to health officials, governments and philanthropic organizations being near the finish line of completely eradicating the virus, said Amber Zeddies, a senior program officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, based in Seattle.

"People have forgotten about polio because it is gone in most places," Zeddies said. "So how do we keep it top of mind and relevant enough so we can cross that final threshold and move on to other public health and development priorities?"

Zeddies, a St. Paul native, met REM5 chief executive Amir Berenjian at South by Southwest, the mega tech and film convention and music festival in Austin, Texas. While there, "[Berenjian] was kind of chit-chatting about the power of virtual reality and bringing people to places they can't physically go," she said.
REM5 leaped at the opportunity.

"To do this now with Bill Gates is a dream come true," Berenjian said.
The video was shown to 1,500 people using VR headsets over a five-day period at a Rotary International conference in Singapore earlier this year, making it one of the largest VR activations in the world, Berenjian and Skalak said. So far, nearly 4,000 people have watched the film using VR headsets, they said
"We can see someone take off the headset and then want to make a difference," Skalak said.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has ideas to make the experience available in other languages, like French and Mandarin, Zeddies said. The foundation has plans to also make the experience available to attendees at the World Health Summit in Berlin in October, she said.

"Polio's Last Mile" is a relatively revolutionary method of storytelling for humanitarian efforts, Berenjian said. For years, engineers, software developers and enthusiasts talked about using virtual reality technology as a means of bridging the gap in human connection. REM5, which started in 2018, was founded on the idea of making virtual reality more available to the masses.

In the past year, though, the launch of the new Meta Quest 3 VR headset and the Apple Vision Pro allowed industry leaders to create value for VR technology at scale. REM5 has used the tech for other projects — a behind-the-scenes look at how cheese is made for a food production company, and a virtual game-day experience for the Minnesota United FC.

Similar to "Polio's Last Mile," REM5 is creating an immersive experience for the American Cancer Society to build awareness and donations for more Hope Lodges, a free place to stay for patients undergoing treatment.

Work like this "has always been the most rewarding," Berenjian said.
Amir said his company isn't replacing traditional storytelling platforms. Fully immersive and augmented reality "is just another extension," he said.

"We're using it to make the world a better place," he said.

Original article

​Polio's Last Mile is using VR to spread awareness and champion the global fight against Polio.

A few decades ago, the world was grappling with a major health crisis. Polio, a viral disease, was rife and resulted in the paralysis of hundreds of thousands of children around the world each year. In 1988, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was launched to fight the disease. At that time, polio was present in more than 125 countries and was responsible for paralyzing around 1,000 children every day. 

However, the tide turned with implementation of widespread immunization efforts, reaching nearly 3 billion children. This led to a staggering 99% decrease of polio cases, according to the Gates Foundation. 

The virus is now confined to a few regions in Pakistan and Afghanistan. As of 2020, the entire African region became the fifth region to be certified free of wild poliovirus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 
It’s important to acknowledge the pivotal role of community health workers around the world, who are predominantly women, in this fight. Their diverse and multifaceted roles have been instrumental in safeguarding children from polio, contributing significantly to the progress in eradicating the disease. The world is now on the cusp of eradicating the disease entirely, thanks to the power of immunization. 
Despite this progress, failing to stop wild polio transmission in Pakistan and Afghanistan could trigger a global resurgence of the disease. If this happens, we could see up to 200,000 new cases of polio each year within the next decade, according to a WHO report titled "Polio Eradication Strategy 2022–2026". 

You may be wondering what’s stopping us from passing the finishing line and eradicating polio globally for good? Conflicts, misinformation and opposition to vaccines stand in the way. The COVID-19 pandemic also added to the challenge, as polio vaccination efforts were halted, causing millions of children to miss routine vaccinations.
However, there is still hope for a polio-free world. On April 28, 2024, Saudi Arabia pledged $500 million over five years to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s (GPEI) efforts to vaccinate 370 million children against polio and strengthen health systems. This announcement marks a significant increase in funding for the global effort to eradicate polio.

The global fight to eradicate polio may seem distant and abstract. However, with the use of  virtual reality (VR) technology, this distance can be bridged. Polio's Last Mile, a VR experience developed by REM5 Studios with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is not just an immersive experience. It's a powerful tool that aims to educate, engage, and most importantly, inspire its users to join the fight against polio. It offers a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of community workers fighting polio in Zambia, providing life-saving polio shots to children all across the country. 
Amir Berenjian, the co-founder and CEO of REM5 Studios and Brian Skalak, Director at REM5 Studios, spoke to Global Citizen about their latest project, an immersive and interactive experience that takes users on an emotional journey to a polio vaccination campaign in Zambia. Berenjian and his team have been in the immersive technology space for almost a decade, always focused on leveraging technology for social good and elevating learning and development.
​
What is the inspiration behind Polio’s Last Mile?
Berenjian: Our goal is to make the tech fade away into the background and let the user focus on the story, content, purpose, and call to action. The primary goal of the project is to build advocacy and support for the mission of polio eradication and emotionally connect people to the mission, whether it's volunteers, people, rotary members, or a Ministry of Finance.

What’s the potential for VR technology in the global health sector?
Skalak: When we attended the World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, we were able to demo the Polio’s Last Mile VR experience to representatives from a various of organizations present, such as UNICEF, Rotary, and Gavi. We were thrilled that during the showcase, many attendees asked the question: "What else could we do with something like this?" Polio’s Last Mile is just the first chapter of a series of immersive experiences that we would love to produce. 
One of the compelling cases for the next project using VR technology could be to show how malaria is similar in struggle and yet different in approach [to polio]. The immersive experience would allow people to put on a headset and learn about the issues. This could be tailored to different audiences. We hope to build a larger experience that will have great content that levels up to a lot of similar shared goals across organizations all over the planet. 
Berenjian: VR is a more natural and accessible piece of technology than any of its predecessors. While it may seem intimidating on the surface, putting on a VR headset and transporting oneself to a location like Zambia is an experience that anybody can have, regardless of their tech expertise. Traditional methods of communication like YouTube videos or TikTok clips can only hold people's attention for a short period of time, whereas VR can immerse users in an environment and hold their undivided attention for 10 minutes or more. By seeing and feeling the effort that goes into vaccinating millions of children, users can develop a deeper appreciation for the cause and be more likely to take action to support the fight against polio.

How did you develop the experience?
Skalak: In October 2023, we used a 360 degrees camera to document the polio campaign in Zambia. We filmed at various locations, including just outside the city center of Zambia's capital city Lusaka. The footage gives viewers a fly-on-the-wall perspective of vaccination efforts and highlights the vital role of community workers in the fight against polio. Despite challenges like overheating cameras and large file sizes, the team overcame technical difficulties and walked for hours in the scorching Zambian heat to create a stunning VR experience. 
Berenjian: Being in an environment where volunteers walk 10 miles a day going door to door to vaccinate children put things into perspective and was part of the beauty of the mission.

Why is it important to spotlight community health workers?
Skalak: Meeting the field teams on the ground was the most profound part of the entire trip. There were tens of thousands of teams like those they met, doing the same work across the country. These teams were mostly volunteers who wanted to keep their communities safe from polio to ensure a prosperous future.
Berenjian: The tone of the experience was designed to celebrate the individuals who are relentlessly fighting on the ground to eradicate polio, rather than having a somber tone. We wanted to highlight the hard work and dedication of these individuals and celebrate their achievements.

What’s next for the team?
Skalak: We plan to showcase the project at Rotary International in Singapore and continue working with the Gates Foundation and other partners to create more immersive experiences. We’re democratizing the experience and have 900 8th graders visiting our physical location in Minneapolis to experience the VR unit. We're also launching an online immersive museum to make the experience more accessible.
Learn more about the experience by visiting the website. To experience the VR, you can either use the non-VR headset alternative option or download Polio’s Last Mile app via Meta if you have your own Meta Quest 3 or Meta Quest Pro headset.

We tried Polio’s Last Mile VR experience. This is what it was like.
It was my first time using a virtual reality headset and it was a significant improvement from previous virtual experiences like 3D glasses at the cinema. The VR headset was comfortable over my glasses and provided an interactive, educational, and visually stunning experience through 360-degree video and augmented reality. I gained insight into the global progress in eradicating polio, witnessing firsthand the impactful work of community workers and volunteers administering life-saving polio shots to children in a local community in Zambia's capital Lusaka. This experience provided an emotional connection, spotlighting those on the frontlines of the global fight to eradicate polio.

​Original article by Global Citizen:
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/polio-last-mile-virtual-reality-experience/