We’ve had the honour to participate in the recent Green Destinations Conference in Tallinn, Estonia.
There, we unveiled our groundbreaking initiative: “Soul Dreamers Urban Stories – Crafting Empathic Gamified Experiences in Favela Tourism.”
In essence, we’re pioneering an eco-educational immersive journey that seamlessly blends adventure tourism, storytelling, Augmented Reality, and gamification. This isn’t just any adventure—it’s a real-life game with you as a tourist at its heart.
Envision diving into an “Alice in Wonderland” setup, where you’re beckoned to unlock symbolic doors revealing the transformative tales of vulnerable communities. These narratives, rooted in past traumas and their inspiring resolutions, are designed to stir deep emotions, promoting empathy and compassion that spur genuine behavioral change.
The journey isn’t just about discovery. Tourists engage in unravelling community mysteries and actively co-create new experiences with community members.
Our pilot experience takes flight in Moravia, Medellin, Colombia—a place with a poignant history. Once labeled the city’s dumping ground, Moravia later provided refuge to thousands displaced by Colombia’s internal conflicts. We’re honored to collaborate with local NGO, Jardum, committed to metamorphosing waste into flourishing gardens, and simultaneously fostering skills and job opportunities for residents.
The tour offers a profound metaphorical lesson: the art of transforming internal turmoil into lush personal growth.
We’re excited about our forthcoming experiences in Cali, Colombia, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our vision is a platform facilitating eco-social impact, championing empathy and compassion between communities and tourists.
A heartfelt thanks to our partners: AR Trails, StoryCity App, Plato Cultural, University of Southern Oregon, Jardum, TechnoCultural Centre Cali, and many others.
And finally, a key take away from the conference came via the renowned Anna Pollock who has dedicated her life onto conscious meaningful tourism. When discussing actions tourism destinations can take onto eco-sustainability, she believes that irrespective on how well we prepare such tasks, if we lack the most important and fundamental trait, the construction will vane fast. And that simple yet fundamental trait is self-love, self-care or self-compassion. Only once we reach the deep root of our own eco-sustainability, we can implement the vision onto those around us, and thus beautiful projects can thrive.