Dubai: Dubai on Saturday night witnessed a Meta Ramadan Majlis, said to be the first of its kind majlis (traditional gathering) in the metaverse.
The metaverse is a virtual environment - of a majlis, hospital, office, museum or any other place - which can be joined by people wearing virtual reality headsets, allowing their avatars to interact with each other as well as with features in the metaverse, such as a video playing or a file of documents, for example.
The Meta Majlis was co-created by Chikara Global, a women’s collective group working with artisans and artists around the world, and Biennale.io, a community-driven ecosystem that caters to creators in the art and culture space in the Middle East.
The Majlis saw the participation of experts and youth to initiate dialogue on the future of communities and the possibilities in the Metaverse as a space for community development and solutions, said Dr Mariam Ketait, the Emirati founder of Chikara Global. The Meta Majlis virtually hosted artisans from India working on education and upskilling women to help them become financially free, added Dr Ketait.
“The women from Kashmir emphasised the importance of digital outreach and storytelling as they continue to bring their heritage to the work in their crafts,” she said.
Exploring opportunities
The event also hosted a brainstorming session between community experts, tech experts, artists, medical staff and mental health experts and the youth on the pros and cons of opening up spaces to facilitate access to healthcare, entrepreneurs and other government needs.
The participants reflected on the new opportunities that can be created to bring people together and create more opportunities in education, retail and community development. The agenda included an intro to the Metaverse, NFTs and the future of art, an art walk featuring artists from the UAE and apart from the guest artisans from Kashmir.
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“Being invited to the Meta Majlis opened up possibilities in my mind, and I am excited about the future,” said Brigitte, one of the attendees.
“The future is hybrid. We will use the digital world but also have our physical spaces,” said Yousif bin Lahij, co-founder of Generation-71 (G71), where the Meta Majlis was hosted.
