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For many, climate change and the effects it will have on the life of our planet and the people who inhabit it, is the great story and the great challenge facing humanity in this 21st century. And there are many questions we can ask ourselves: How will this phenomenon affect us? What practical consequences will it have on our lives? Are the changes irreversible? What can each of us do in practice to reduce the effects that have been perceived for years?
"The Zone of Hope", a pioneering exhibition in Europe that can be visited – or, rather, experienced – in the center of Barcelona until next May 2019, manages to convey to citizens, in a masterful and totally novel way, the effects that climate change can have on our lives.
Thanks to the technology called "immersive extreme", visitors can experience firsthand, in a totally immersive virtual reality and surround sound environment, what the world will be like in a few years if we do nothing to stop the effects of climate change. But not just any world, or an indeterminate world. The person who enters "The Zone of Hope" will see and experience what can happen in the city of Barcelona or in the La Baells reservoir, in the Pre-Pyrenees, in a few decades due to climate change.
"The Zone of Hope", promoted by the company Aigües de Barcelona, is, in the words of its creators, "a pioneering exhibition on a global scale in which the public can experience what future generations may live if we do not stop climate change".
"The objective of the exhibition is to try to explain to citizens what the effects of climate change can be in our country," Àngels Cabello, head of knowledge management at Suez Spain and coordinator, along with Elisenda Bergés, of the contents of "The Zone of Hope", explained to The New Barcelona Post.
IMMERSIVE JOURNEY TO THE FUTURE
The immersive journey to the future offered by "The Zone of Hope" is carried out by Violeta, a girl born in 2018 who accompanies the visitor and places them in various moments and scenarios of the future, when she is 20, 50 and 75 years old (in 2038, 2068 and 2093). Specifically, "The Zone of Hope" makes us experience the melting of the Arctic, a flood in Barcelona and the desertification of the Catalan reservoir of La Baells.
The visitor moves during their visit, following Violeta's instructions, through several hyperrealistic scenarios generated in 3D. This displacement represents, according to those responsible for "The Zone of Hope", "a revolution in the world of immersive experiences". The voice-over narration is available in three languages, chosen by the visitor: Catalan, Castilian, and English.
It will be difficult for visitors to this exhibition to forget the experience lived in "The Zone of Hope" or leave indifferent. It is 30 minutes in which, after the introduction and the placement of the necessary viewers and sensors for the extreme immersion experience, they will walk through various hyperrealistic scenarios, experience cold and heat, feel the lash of the wind, touch the ice, and contemplate shocking images that will help them understand what can happen in our immediate environment due to climate change.
A MESSAGE OF HOPE
"The Zone of Hope" aims to alert visitors about what could happen in the future if the necessary measures are not adopted to correct human influence on climate change. But at the same time, it wants to convey a message of hope regarding the possibility of reacting to curb the effects of climate change.
Thus, the exhibition also shows, in its final part, an audiovisual piece "that reminds us that another future is possible", which includes messages about climate change from personalities such as the Dalai Lama, Barack Obama, Al Gore, and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.
The visit concludes with an interactive wall where visitors can show their level of commitment and indicate what daily actions they are willing to take to curb climate change. An email with their image in the exhibition environment will remind visitors of the commitment made.
In fact, the title of the exhibition, "The Zone of Hope", precisely wants to focus attention on a possible hopeful future. As Àngels Cabello explained to The New Barcelona Post, "we wanted the title to highlight the positive part of the exhibition, the hope that we believe still exists if governments and citizens make a pact and start acting now."
MORE THAN 17,000 VISITORS
Since its inauguration on January 20, 2018, more than 17,000 people have already experienced "The Zone of Hope". A large group –around 3,000– have been high school and baccalaureate students from dozens of Catalan schools, for whom Aigües de Barcelona has developed, together with the Escola de l'Aigua, a didactic and pedagogical adaptation of the exhibition that is worked on in class before and after the visit.
The good reception that "The Zone of Hope" has had has led its organizers to decide to extend it until the end of May 2019. Initially, "The Zone of Hope" was scheduled to close on January 20, 2019, after a year of exhibition. But it can be visited for four more months, until May 2019.
According to Àngels Cabello, the students who have visited "The Zone of Hope" have given the exhibition a score of almost 4.9 out of 5.
AIGÜES DE BARCELONA AND MEDIAPRO EXHIBITIONS
"The Zone of Hope" is a project promoted by Aigües de Barcelona, the company that manages the drinking water supply service in Barcelona and 22 surrounding municipalities, as well as the sanitation and wastewater treatment in the municipalities of the Barcelona metropolitan area.
A team from Aigües de Barcelona made up of experts in innovation, climate change and sustainable development has been in charge of the overall direction of the project.
For its part, Mediapro Exhibitions, which is the division of the Mediapro group specialized in the creation and development of exhibition and museographic projects that make use of state-of-the-art audiovisual technologies, has supervised the production and operation of "The Zone of Hope". Among other elements, Mediapro Exhibitions has been responsible for content development, script and design of environments and characters, and supervision of construction and technical engineering.
Àngels Cabello has pointed out that the advanced technology used in the exhibition has been one of the main challenges of this project, which was developed for twelve months before its opening.
This technology, combined with the exhibition's content proposal, is what leads, as Àngels Cabello explains, to people leaving the visit with "a change of attitude, quite impacted and committed." "We have managed –she explains with satisfaction– that people who have gone through 'The Zone of Hope' commit, as far as possible, to act on climate change."
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Where: Reial Cercle Artístic de Barcelona Carrer dels Arcs, 5, 08002 Barcelona
When: From January 20, 2018, until the end of May 2019. Monday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Groups: maximum 4 people
Age: over 13 years old
Reservations and more information: www.thezoneofhope.com
Price: Free admission for Agbar clients. 15 euros for the general public.
ANNEX: CLIMATE CHANGE: CAUSES OF THE CURRENT SITUATION AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTION (Information provided by Aigües de Barcelona in "The Zone of Hope" press kit)
- We are living the warmest years since thermal records exist. We are at a turning point in the fight against climate change, that is, against the global variation of the Earth's climate, caused, among other things, by human action.
- The increase in temperature is explained by the so-called "greenhouse effect", that is, the increase in the concentration of gases in the atmosphere. While these gases are necessary for life as we know it, an excessive increase like the one we are experiencing has very negative effects for the planet.
- Among these gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, which are released by agriculture, industry, and the combustion of fossil fuels. The industrialized world has caused the concentration of these gases to increase by 30% in the last century and reach the highest emission level in history. Since the mid-20th century, unprecedented changes have been observed in the last millennia: the warming of the climate system is unequivocal. It affects us all, and we can all act to stop it.
- Its effects will be felt gradually but increasingly, with predictions of a lack of drinking water, difficult conditions for food production, and an increase in mortality rates due to floods, storms, droughts, and heatwaves. The extinction of animals and plants is predicted, as habitats will change so rapidly that many species will not be able to adapt in time. The World Health Organization has warned that the health of millions of people could be threatened by the increase in malaria, malnutrition, and waterborne diseases. Specifically, Spain, due to its geographical location and socioeconomic characteristics, is very vulnerable to climate change.
- In December 2015, the international community reached an agreement at the United Nations convention held in Paris to combat global warming. Specifically, it was agreed to limit global warming to 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and thus minimize the impacts of climate change. It is positive to have these global agreements, but it is also necessary to be very rigorous in the implementation mechanisms to ensure their compliance.
- Governments must set the objectives, but action also corresponds to industry, businesses, local authorities, and citizens. The set of actions must be aimed at drastically reducing emissions, to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and thus curb the rise in temperatures.