Syrian Refugee VR Experience

This project emerged from work within the charity and NGO sector, where immersive media can offer opportunities to explore complex social experiences with care and sensitivity.

AVimmerse was invited to support the development of a virtual reality experience based on the lived experiences of a Syrian family displaced by conflict. Rather than focusing on statistics or headlines, the project centred on personal story, memory, and everyday life.

Community workshop with a Syrian family, Global Link, and YMCA partners preparing food together as part of a refugee VR experience.

Working with the Karin Family, Global Link, and the YMCA to create a custom experience.

PORTFOLIO

Background

The experience follows the journey of a Syrian family forced to flee their home and resettle in a new country. The narrative focuses on family life before displacement, the realities of migration, and the emotional impact of starting again in an unfamiliar environment.

Designed as an immersive documentary, the project uses 360 video to place viewers within these environments, encouraging reflection rather than instruction.

Aerial view of a large refugee camp with rows of temporary shelters in a desert landscape, used as licensed reference footage in a VR experience.

Getty War Footage, licenced and included in the experience.

Approach

AVimmerse worked closely with Global Link and partner organisations to shape the experience collaboratively, ensuring that the technology served the story rather than defining it.

Decisions around visual language, audio, and interaction were informed by the need for accessibility, emotional clarity, and respect for the participants’ experiences. The goal was not to recreate trauma, but to offer a grounded sense of presence and understanding.

Bus departing an urban area in Syria, representing civilian movement during the early stages of the conflict, licensed Getty imagery.

Aerial view of war damaged buildings in a Syrian city, showing the impact of conflict on residential areas, licensed Getty imagery.

Licenced images: Getty

Delivery

The experience was delivered as a 360 video, compatible with both VR headsets and standard devices, allowing it to be shared widely across educational and community settings.

While the project was initially designed for facilitated use, the experience has since been made available more broadly, supporting discussion and learning around displacement and migration.

Experience excerpt

An excerpt from the Syrian Refugee VR experience, presented for documentation purposes.

This project reflects AVimmerse’s wider studio practice exploring immersive storytelling, ethics, and audience experience.