Is Myanmar the World’s Newest Virtual Reality Centre?
One of the least developed countries the world, the Southeast Asian nation had been, until relatively recently, been involved in one of the world’s longest running civil wars, strife that had not only lead to human rights violations, but a struggling economy and an income gap amongst its citizens that would seem at odds with the country’s rich mineral resources.
But recently, tides have begun to change and since the country’s open general election in 2011 and the subsequent relaxing of trade sanctions against the military junta once in charge, the nation, still amongst the poorest in Asia, has seen its economy start to grow.
And as the country starts to bloom, naturally one of the areas that many native entrepreneurs have flocked to, much like in other more developed countries, is tech. And of the hottest areas in tech investment, naturally, is virtual reality.
As tech startups begin to emerge around the capital city of Yangon, many of the entrepreneurs taking hold of VR, are giving back to the country’s rural people, many of whom live on dirt roads and haven’t any electricity. And it’s because while this growth of VR in Myanmar has a startup type vibe, what puts the country in such an exciting position with respect to its virtual reality experience is that for a country so poorly developed, VR can not only bring business potential, but its applications can be used to develop the future of a nation that until only recently was stuck in an analog past.
And of all the areas that virtual reality can help the Myanmarese, perhaps the one that can carry the most impact is in education.
With its poor infrastructure, primitive education system and high levels of poverty, Myanmar’s children would seem to have the odds stacked against them. But the growth of VR within the country brings with it opportunities that even a few years ago would have seemed out of reach.
While in the past, the kids who were lucky enough to attend school may have had to study animals from a book, unable to afford a trip to the zoo for example. Now, with the growth of VR and a growing tech community determined to get virtual reality into Myanmar’s classrooms, Myanmarese children can, rather than see pictures, be able to visit a virtual zoo, all without leaving school.
And while Myanmar’s future is being shaped by VR, so too is its past. Nyi Lin Seck, a former head of a television station who once made money providing virtual reality footage for hotels and luxury apartments has turned his attention to Myanmar’s archaeological treasures.
Inspired by the damage the ancient city, and major tourist destination, Bagan suffered from an earthquake last year, Seck has pledged to use VR to preserve digital replicas of what’s left standing across the country, aiming to preserve up to 99 percent of the ancient art left standing.
These are just two examples of what virtual reality is bringing to a country rebuilding itself after decades of conflict and strife. There was never any question that following its democratic renewal, Myanmar would rebuild. It’s that the tools they’re using are digital that’s the surprise.