‘X-Ray Fashion’ Wins the Uniting4Climate Virtual Reality Pitch Competition

December 5, 2017

Connect4Climate

Winner announced at the “Laudato Si’ Challenge” Celebrations at the Vatican, ushering a new era of business for sustainable impact

Described as an x-ray investigation of the fashion industry, the creators of X-Ray Fashion plan to take the audience on a journey through the lifespan of garment production, consumption and disposal - an experience that will immerse the spectator in the often adverse effects on our climate and our environment, and the devastating consequences for many of the workers involved, while at the same time showing how consumer habits can be changed and how solutions are at hand if actions are taken.

X-Ray Fashion VR

Implemented under the umbrella of the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate program and its Film4Climate initiative, the “Uniting4Climate Virtual Reality Pitch Competition” was designed to challenge people’s creativity by asking them to come up with concepts that will use Virtual Reality to give new insights into climate action, explore much needed climate solutions and help people experience the reality of a global issue that is more urgent now than ever. Connect4Climate focuses its advocacy work around several hubs to energize the creative industries and the global community into finding new ways to raise awareness of climate issues and encourage necessary changes in social behavior.

166 submissions were received from more than 50 countries in a three month worldwide search for creative talent. Many fascinating ideas were proposed from a vast spectrum of diverse backgrounds, and it was up to the esteemed 11-person jury to decide which one will best use this highly creative medium to shed new light on how we can all unite to find practical climate solutions that can tackle climate change.

‘X-Ray Fashion’ emerged as a clear winner for the jury and receives as their prize the chance to put the idea into VR production thanks to philanthropist Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions as Executive Producer partner of the competition.

The winning team is based in Aarhus, Denmark and consists of Ecuadorian born Maria Herholdt-Engermann, Sule Serubugo, originally from Uganda, Denisa Skantarova from the Slovak Republic, in addition to Danish native Signe Ungermand. All of them are in their early 20’s and have banded together to form Mannd, a start-up media and design company focusing on virtual reality.

X-Ray Fashion won Uniting4Climate VR/360-Video Pitch Competition. Photo Credits: Leigh Vogel/Connect4Climate

The team behind 'X-Ray Fashion.' Photo Credits: Leigh Vogel/Connect4Climate

The announcement was made at the culminating celebrations for the Laudato Si’ Challenge, an initiative inspired by Pope Francis’ Encyclical “Laudato Si’. Connect4Climate is a partner in the Challenge to young entrepreneurs and social impact companies to focus on ‘Care for our Common Home’ and tackling the issues of climate change and involuntary migration by proposing energy, food, water and conservation solutions in particular.

On December 4th, hundreds of innovators and titans of social enterprise came together at the Vatican City under the banner of the The Laudato Si’ Challenge for a summit titled, “Celebrating the Social Economy” presented by ION360 and supported by Connect4Climate. Hosted by His Eminence Cardinal Turkson and the Dicastery for Promotion of Integral Human Development, the two-part program showcased the latest cutting-edge innovations that are sustainably addressing climate change and will culminate with an awards program and musical performance celebrating a new era of business.

Recap 'Celebrating the Social Economy' event

Kimberly Steward Uniting4Climate, Laudato Si' Challenge

Kimberly Steward, producer of Manchester By The Sea, announced the winner of the Uniting4Climate VR/360-Video Pitch Competition during the Laudato Si’ Challenge two-day event. Photo Credits: Leigh Vogel/Connect4Climate

This year’s edition of The Laudato Si’ Challenge (LSC) welcomed participation from over one thousand entrepreneurs representing nearly 100 countries. The top ten enterprises including Mandulis Energy, Nokero, Smart Yields, Rise Products, Aqus, Innov8tia, ProTrash, Scooterino, papr and TORtec, each received a round of investment and nine of the companies spent the summer in Italy, shuttling between Vatican City and their offices inside the LSC Incubator in Rome. After more than a year’s worth of hard work, each of the ten enterprises returned to the Vatican to attend the “Celebrating the Social Economy” event.

The Uniting4Climate winners with the Connect4Climate team. Photo Credits: Leigh Vogel/Connect4Climate

The Uniting4Climate winners with team members of the World Bank’s Connect4Climate program in Rome, Italy. Photo Credits: Leigh Vogel/Connect4Climate

In parallel, the World Bank Group will then be taking the call for large scale investment in climate solutions to the One Planet Summit organized by Emmanuel Macron in Paris from December 11-12th, outlining in detail the immediate needs in a series of ‘Agora’s’ or market-places to encourage massive investment by both nations and the private sector.

About Vulcan Productions

Vulcan Productions is dedicated to the power of storytelling. The division produces content and large-scale campaigns that entertain, electrify and change the way people understand the world’s toughest challenges. Vulcan Productions’ films, television series and digital content spark ideas and turn action into measurable impact. Founded by Paul G. Allen and his sister Jody Allen in 1997, Vulcan Productions creates content across all platforms, extending the wide-ranging work of Vulcan Inc. in wildlife, science, climate, oceans, education, technology, current social issues, history and the arts. Award-winning projects include Racing Extinction, Academy Award®-nominated Body Team 12, We The Economy, #ISurvivedEbola, Girl Rising, and The Blues. Upcoming projects include Ivory, Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale, Mind of a Giant and Unseen Enemy.

About Connect4Climate

Connect4Climate, also known as the Communication for Climate Change Multi Donor Trust Fund, is the World Bank Group’s global partnership program dedicated to climate change communication. It is supported by the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, along with more than 400 partners including civil society, media networks, international organizations, academic institutions, youth groups and the private sector. Film4Climate is the official Connect4Climate initiative dedicated to greening the silver screen, with more than 160 partners from the global film industry.