Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama yesterday launched the Virtual Reality film – Our Home, Our Hope – at the Suva City Carnegie Library.

He said getting people to be more aware of the threat posed by climate change was a vital part of the nation’s education.

According to Mr Bainimarama, the film is the best way to bring home the reality of the impact of climate change on the Fijian people – a 360 degree experience that is “unlike anything else you will have ever seen’’.

He said when they put on the headset to watch the film, it was really like being there – whether it is the Bayly Memorial School, in Barotu (in Ra) the communities of Nabukadra and Namarai (Nakorotubu, Ra) or Vunisavisavi in Cakaudrove.

These are places where the film takes one to.

“It brings to life the struggle of the people of Ra and Cakaudrove … to build their resilience to climate change. It reminds every Fijian who will see it that we are coming together in our spirit of veilomani – of caring – to support each other and confront the climate challenge,’’ the Prime Minister said.

“And, it reminds every person who sees it the world over that the climate struggle isn’t only about scientists or experts but ordinary people like those Fijians who feature in the film.”

He said it was one of the highlights of the Fijian Pavilion at COP23, not only for the many thousands who passed through it but for him personally.

“And, I urge as many Fijians as possible to try to see it. Because it is genuinely brilliant.”

Mr Bainimarama thanked the World Bank team that was behind this initiative, both for the production itself and for the way it worked so closely with the communities involved.

He was especially pleased that the people who featured in the film would be able to see themselves in virtual reality when they took it on tour to Nabukadra, Namarai, the Bayly Memorial School and Vunisavisavi.

The film he said contained a powerful message – communicating some of the key findings of a climate vulnerability assessment carried out by a team from the World Bank and a team from our Ministry of Economy led by Nilesh Prakash.

This assessment finds that by 2050, Fiji’s annual losses due to extreme weather events could reach 6.5 percent of GDP, with more than 32,000 people pushed into hardship every year.

Edited by George Kulamaiwasa

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