Myanmar Immersive Experience
In August 2019, the British Red Cross brought the world’s largest refugee camp to the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, through a week long installation. Accessible to the public from 12-18 August, the installation recreated the challenging conditions in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where over 700,000 people have been forced to live after fleeing their homes when violence erupted in neighbouring Myanmar in August 2017. Two years on, the majority of those who survived have found themselves trying to rebuild their lives in one of the most disaster-prone places on earth.
The interactive experience was made up of the many terrains, obstacles and threats that people faced in their journey, including the path to safety through thick jungle, fierce river crossingsl, and ending in the home of someone living in the Cox’s Bazar camp. The public were guided by the voices of real people living in the camp featured in videos and audio snippets that I edited from a vast collection of material, in close collaboration with the British Red Cross Multimedia Team. The installation allowed shoppers to make the journey from Myanmar to Bangladesh themselves, meeting these people who’ve faced unimaginable dangers to survive.
The British Red Cross brought the world’s largest refugee camp to Westfield, London, Stratford City shopping centre through a week long installation in August 2019. Accessible to the public from 12-18 August, the installation recreated the challenging conditions in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where over 700,000 people have been forced to live after fleeing their homes when violence erupted in Rakhine state in neighbouring Myanmar in August 2017. Two years on, the majority of those who survived have found themselves trying to rebuild their lives in one of the most disaster-prone places on earth, made all the more vulnerable during monsoon season, when the installation took place. In one of the largest humanitarian operations in the world, the British Red Cross has continued to support hundreds of thousands of people with shelter, access to clean water, food, healthcare and much needed emotional support.
The interactive experience was made up of the many terrains, obstacles and threats that people faced, including the path to safety through thick jungle, fierce river crossings and ending in the home of someone living in the Cox’s Bazar camp. The public were guided by the voices of real people living in the camp allowing shoppers to make the journey from Myanmar themselves, meeting these inspiring people who’ve faced unimaginable dangers to survive, with a great number of challenges still ahead.
The aim of the installation was to raise awareness of their plight and encourage the public to show their support for the work of the British Red Cross.
The British Red Cross brought the world’s largest refugee camp to Westfield, London, Stratford City shopping centre through a week long installation in August 2019. Accessible to the public from 12-18 August, the installation recreated the challenging conditions in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where over 700,000 people have been forced to live after fleeing their homes when violence erupted in Rakhine state in neighbouring Myanmar in August 2017. Two years on, the majority of those who survived have found themselves trying to rebuild their lives in one of the most disaster-prone places on earth, made all the more vulnerable during monsoon season, when the installation took place. In one of the largest humanitarian operations in the world, the British Red Cross has continued to support hundreds of thousands of people with shelter, access to clean water, food, healthcare and much needed emotional support.
The interactive experience was made up of the many terrains, obstacles and threats that people faced, including the path to safety through thick jungle, fierce river crossings and ending in the home of someone living in the Cox’s Bazar camp. The public were guided by the voices of real people living in the camp allowing shoppers to make the journey from Myanmar themselves, meeting these inspiring people who’ve faced unimaginable dangers to survive, with a great number of challenges still ahead.
The aim of the installation was to raise awareness of their plight and encourage the public to show their support for the work of the British Red Cross.