"ROMANIA 100 - I CHOOSE ROMANIA" VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECT

Abstract

The project "Romania 100 - I choose Romania" developed by Radio Romania aims to cultivate the love of the country, the pride of being Romanian while promoting the highest human values recognized internationally. During the last years there were presented the most beautiful places in Romania (2014), the most valuable Romanians in science and culture (2015), the most famous athletes or sports teams from Romania (2016) and the most beautiful Romanian songs performed by great national artists (2017). The radio-documentary series were broadcast on-air an all the regional radio network stations and also posted online on the project's website, YouTube channel and Facebook page. In 2018, when 100 years from the Great Union are celebrated, the campaign will present 100 defining events in history that made the nowadays Romania possible. To celebrate this, the organizers intend to create 12 memorial parks in important Romanian cities. They will enclose "Union Forum" places, guarded by 20 symbols, 10 on each side of the alley or placed on the circumference for the round forums. For a multitude of reasons, including the appeal to a younger audience, there will be set a Virtual Reality (VR) commemoration themed park, where to present all these fascinating stories. All the moments will be accessible as interactive multimedia items/symbols in the digital realm, extending the existence of the physical ones. In this paper we debate the importance of adapting information exposition, specifically the one regarding the culture, to the new digital environments available today. There are fears that globalization and new media will wear down the national culture and cultural heritage. We will analyze these aspects and we will show that Internet and VR can be not just spaces of social manifestation, but also of cultural presence, adding new dimensions to the Romanian cultural landscape. A better integration within the national identity improves the sense of well-being and the quality of existence for the Romanian citizens. The information gathered will serve to better understand how the facts are best perceived and learned by users in the virtual environments and how to improve this technology-enhanced learning technique.