Giving Compass' Take:

• Cara Mertes, writing for Immerse, discusses Kamal Sinclair's report on mapping the landscape for emerging media, and how new media will impact social justice philanthropy. 

• What are some examples of emerging media that promote social justice? How can donors utilize this report to elevate social justice philanthropy? 

• Find out more about social justice philanthropy and the role of donors in this movement. 

Kamal Sinclair is a leading emerging media expert and director of Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Lab Programs. Her recent report, Making A New Reality, maps the landscape for emerging media, including immersive media such as virtual reality, augmented reality, 360-degree storytelling, hyper-reality and more.

There are recommendations which lay the groundwork for the interventions in social justice philanthropy and other donors/investors can consider as tech-enabled creative and immersive storytelling catapults toward becoming the dominant story experience for Generation Z and beyond.

Why is now the right time for social justice philanthropy to engage with emerging media? The field is young, access for creators is extremely limited, adoption rates for audiences are projected to soar, and emerging media will be a site of convergence for all of Ford’s Creativity and Free Expression (CFE) fields: creative documentary forms (JustFilms), journalism, and the arts.

The attraction of social justice-oriented organizations to the technology lay in its novelty, efficiency and potential impact. A more authentic immersive narrative experience seemed to help users identify better with the realities of other people. It promised to create a feeling of connectedness and thereby elicit sympathy, empathy and even compassion. For organizations such as the International Rescue Committee and the UN, this could potentially unlock a greater willingness to engage in problem-solving and was seen to increase donation levels at events featuring VR.

Read the full article how emerging media can advance social justice philanthropy by Cara Mertes at Immerse.