In December 2024, Girls STEAM Institute honored the Africa VR Center and Campus and the extraordinary work by their founders and members with the 2024 Champions of Future Girl Innovators in VR Excellence Award. In 2023, they were honored with the Girls STEAM Institute 2023 Business Challenge Inaugural International Social Impact Award for their successful team, Africa Power Girls.
The Africa VR Center in Kenya is an innovative hub dedicated to advancing virtual and augmented reality technologies across the continent. Focused on empowering young people, especially young girls, the center aims to create locally relevant VR, XR, and AR experiences that promote social justice and sustainability.
By fostering a network of African creators and technologists, the Africa VR Center seeks to enhance educational opportunities and support the development of a vibrant metaverse tailored to the needs of African communities and building a future economy embracing emerging technology. Through workshops, collaborations, and projects, it plays a crucial role in democratizing access to immersive technologies and inspiring the next generation of innovators in Africa.
Lead by Founder and Director, Paul Simon Waiyaki wa Hinga, and Associate Director, Diane Maina, the ongoing work to provide not just an education but open the hearts and minds of these Kenya girls to emerging technology and entrepreneurship skills.
In their founder’s blog on Medium, he shares his one of his many Stories from Africa anecdotes from his show, this one about how he is perceived when he arrives in a village.
The young maasai boy is standing on a crest of a lowly stump of a hill.
His eyes can see distant higher hills over the landscape of gently rolling plains of the maasai mara.
Letuya has never seen a smartphone. Never seen a computer up close.
He’s looking after his father’s herds of goats.
A 50 strong herd.
Letuya is very excited.
Tomorrow, he will be joining the children of his small village in Kajiado for a very interesting visit, from a very weird fellow.
This is Letuya’s experience.
The fellow, who calls himself Paul Simon, Koiyaki ole lemotaka, Waiyaki wa Hinga, Kariuki wa Mwithiga, is bringing weird looking things that i and all the other kids or anyone from our village have never seen or even ever heard of.
When the kids have been gathered and collected together.
A white minivan approached.
A bearded short man stepped out and the elder told us that he is Paul Simon, Koiyaki Ole Lemotaka, Waiyaki wa Hinga, Kariuki wa Mwithiga.
We burst out loud laughing, wondering how many names such a short man can have.
He carries a bag that is full of stuff we have never seen.
He calls us one by one, and we wear the things onto our faces.
When it is my turn to go in front, I am a bit scared. He tells me not to be, and to tell him where and what I have ever wished to see.
I tell him I want to see Nairobi, where my uncle went to work.
He puts the strange thing to his face and appears to wave onto something and helps me to put it on my face.
He tells me to close my eyes and then to open them.
I am shocked.
I just can’t believe it. I find myself in a new world.
I stagger a little, he tells me to sit down and look around.
I ask him to remove it, I find that I’m still In my village.
When the boy puts the VR headset back on, he finds himself in outer space then on an airplane, all novel experiences. His life is changed forever.
This is the power of VR.
The Africa VR Center hosts a free weekly show every Thursday at 10pm Nairobi in ENGAGE XR, the popular professional VR platform. The shows feature stories from around Africa as well as highlights about innovative technology in Africa and around the world with special guests.
The Africa VR Campus and Center is partners with several organizations including Girls STEAM Institute, Virtual World Society, Educators in VR, and others in their new AfricaVR Network.
Check out their activities, interviews, and demonstrations on their Africa VR Campus and Center YouTube Channel and their website.
