Closing the 5th Edition of Googaz: Bridging the SDGs to the Youth of Bizkaia with VIROO
BILBAO, December 22– The 5th edition of Googaz concluded with the awards for the best virtual reality (VR) project developed with VIROO highlighting health and well-being. The initiative, promoted by the BBK Kuna, the Diputación Foral de Bizkaia, Virtualware, and Stay Bigel, has helped to bring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) closer to young people.
Designed by and for young people, Googaz has unfolded in three distinct phases: Play, Design, and Create.
In the first phase, 566 young people aged 16-30 took part in an immersive experience using virtual reality headsets. They engaged five different realities: health and well-being, reducing inequalities, gender equality, sustainable cities and communities, and poverty eradication. This phase took place in 6 municipalities with the participation of 9 education centers.
In the last phase, 3 vocational education and training centers in Bizkaia (Spain) worked in teams to bring a virtual reality game to life. The game was based on the winning script of the hackathon celebrated in the second phase and used the the VR enteprise platform, VIROO.
The event highlighted the exceptional quality of the proposals submitted. The importance of actively involving young people in raising awareness of the SDGs was underlined by the creativity, innovation, and genuine commitment shown by the participants.
As a promising conclusion, it was announced the winning project that was created by the team of CIFP Tartanga. It will travel around the region during the next edition of Googaz.
This continuance of the cycle reaffirms the initiative’s ongoing commitment to using technology as a tool to raise awareness and inspire positive change among youth.
“Twenty years ago, we couldn’t have imagined where this journey would take us. Today, as we celebrate two decades of pioneering VR, we’re excited to unveil our strategy for the next phase of growth and innovation” .
said Unai Extremo, CEO and Co-founder of Virtualware.
Virtualware’s flagship product VIROO, the world’s pioneering VR as a Service (VRaaS) platform, makes Virtual Reality accessible to companies and institutions of all sizes and sectors. It is an all-in-one digital solution that enables the development and deployment of multi-user Virtual Reality applications remotely.
VIROO aims to become the standard for developing industrial end educational Virtual Reality applications worldwide.
Founded in 2004, Virtualware is one of the pioneering corporations in the European Virtual Reality industry applied to the industrial, educational, and healthcare sectors. Its team of more than 50 people has developed more than 500 projects in more than 33 countries. It has its headquarters in Bilbao, Spain, and its North American headquarters in Hamilton (Canada).
Virtualware’s flagship product VIROO, the world’s pioneering VR as a Service (VRaaS) platform, makes Virtual Reality accessible to companies and institutions of all sizes and sectors.
VIROO is an all-in-one digital solution that enables the development and deployment of multi-user Virtual Reality applications remotely and is already used by more than 40 companies and institutions worldwide including GE Hitachi, Ontario Power Generation, Gestamp, ADIF, the Spanish Ministry of Defense, El Retoño Technological University, and EAN University.
VIROO aims to become the standard for the development of industrial and educational Virtual Reality applications worldwide.
