How could AR/VR technology be used to serve human development efforts? In an address to a virtual audience, EON Reality Executive Vice President Anna Lejerskar, together with a panel from Google, MIT D Lab, Salesforce, Sow IT and Splunk, shared their vision for the future in a virtual webinar led by USAID on Tuesday. 

In the webinar “Reimagining Technology for Better Development Impact in the MENA Region”, the panel discussed how different technologies could address development challenges across education, health, poverty, conflict and economic growth.

During her presentation, Ms Lejerskar spoke about the need to maintain learning continuity amid various crises including the ongoing pandemic.  She also shared about EON Reality and its efforts to provide ongoing classroom access and improve learning outcomes using AR/VR technologies. 

Citing one of the company’s most recent breakthroughs, EON-XR, she pointed out that the platform’s ability to allow teachers to easily create and deploy AR/VR enhanced lessons on a basic smart phone has created more access points for learning. This has paved the way to a remote classroom fortified with 21st century experiential learning opportunities, powered by AR/VR technology. 

Now used in classrooms across the African continent to the Middle East, EON-XR has allowed more than 40,000 students to benefit from hands-on learning experiences in remote, instructor-led environments. EON-XR also forms part of EON Reality’s current engagement with UM6P and USAID to augment digital capacities in Morocco.

Lejerskar, a firm believer in EON Reality’s vision of “Knowledge is a Human Right” now heads the company’s Learn for Life initiative, which is dedicated to fostering vocational skills, technical training and basic education for youths in emerging economies.

Lejerskar is optimistic about the role of AR/VR  technology coupled with the impact of USAID-led initiatives in human development. 

“Digital technologies including AR/VR have huge untapped potential to make a difference to bridge  education gaps that have become too glaringly obvious since the pandemic. I am glad we are part of USAID’s ongoing efforts to make education no longer an issue of privilege, but as a fundamental human right.”