Bodyswaps releases its complete Virtual Reality Anti-Racism experience

British EdTech start-up holds up a mirror to the blindspots around our own biases and helps learners reflect on the behaviors that have been so prominent in shaping our societies today.

Leading VR soft skills training provider Bodyswaps is releasing its first complete series of anti-racism VR experiences today, co-developed with subject matter experts from George Brown College (Toronto, Canada).

The simulations are part of the series ‘Let’s Talk About Race’ which takes learners on a reflective journey through a collection of stories that examine the effects of privilege, bias and microaggressions on black indigenous and people of color.

By embodying avatars and interacting with virtual humans, learners can benefit from three immersive training scenarios:

• Bias as a Barrier: Explore your own bias, learn how tropes and lazy stereotypes in TV and films marginalize sections of society, and learn a four-step strategy for identifying and challenging biased behavior.
• Recognizing Privilege: Discover what intersectionality means in practice, reflect on how your own social identity shapes your privilege, identify privilege and its effects on people from different walks of life.
• Navigating Microaggressions: Identify microinsults and microinvalidations, learn strategies for having constructive conversations about racism and practice challenging others safely and effectively.

“George Brown College is an extremely diverse population with different ethnicities, nationalities, orientations and denominations working together on a daily basis. It is essential that all of our students and staff have the tools to speak about race and diversity courageously and respectfully while being active in creating an open and welcoming environment for all,” said Michael Avis, Faculty Facilitator and Educational Technology Coach of George Brown College.

“It was paramount to work closely with subject matter experts and teachers when creating the scenarios addressing topics such as privilege, bias and microaggressions to get as much insight and feedback as possible throughout the project,” explained Christophe Mallet, CEO of Bodyswaps. “We also recruited students to review scripts and act as voice artists for some of the characters in the simulations to make them as authentic as possible.”

About Bodyswaps
Bodyswaps is an award-winning immersive learning platform designed to deliver lasting behavioural change. Their VR solutions create a safe space where learners can practise soft skills, with AI-enabled analytical feedback to accelerate personal development.

To develop this experience, Bodyswaps collaborated with subject matter experts from the Office of Anti-Racism, Equity and Human Rights Services (OAREHRS), which promotes fairness, equity, accountability and transparency at George Brown College.