Students made their final project presentations within the scope of the Virtual Worlds course, which we conducted jointly with the Technology University of Dublin (TUD) from Ireland and Whole Brain Health (WBH), a non-profit organization from the USA. The students were divided into 6 different groups (green, blue, gold, silver, red, and purple) with the main theme of 'Sustainability'. Each 2 groups from 6 groups made their presentations with the themes of 'Environment, Economy and Society', which are the 3 pillars of sustainability. Blue and Green made their presentations with the theme of ‘Environment’, Gold and Silver with the theme of ‘Economy’, and Red and Purple with the theme of ‘Society’. Students talked about sustainable development goals and what can be done towards these goals.
We first gathered at the project area, where Magua gave the keynote speech. Magua briefly introduced the collaborative course. He then talked about the presentation themes that will be held today. After the opening speech of Magua, we first went to the area prepared by the green team and the team started presentation with the theme of ‘Environment’. Green Team first talked about the goal of 'Clean Water and Sanitation', one of the Sustainable Development goals. Later, the Green team gave a speech about what can be done towards this goal. Green Team said that unnecessary water use should be reduced and water resources should be kept clean. Later, the team stated that even the measures that can be taken personally can create very important results. Then, they mentioned about another Sustainable Development goal, 'Clean and Affordable Energy'. Here, firstly, they gave various statistics about energy consumption and carbon emissions caused by this consumption. They offered suggestions to reduce unnecessary energy consumption related to this target. Green Team finished the presentation here and then Blue Team started its presentation.
Blue Team also made a presentation with the theme of Environment. Blue Team first drew attention to the importance of the issue. Blue Team also made a presentation on the Sustainable Development Goals, 'Clean Water and Sanitation' and 'Clean and Affordable energy'. Blue Team emphasized that states should implement policies to protect the environment and invest in renewable energy. In addition, they stated that the most energy consumption is made by companies and especially companies should turn to renewable energy. Blue Team also drew attention to climate change and concluded its presentation by stating that clean energy is very important.
After the Blue Team, Gold Team made a presentation with the theme of 'Sustainable Economy'. Gold Team, on the other hand, started its presentation by talking about the Second Life economy. Gold Team stated here that Second Life has an economy created by users. They also said that big companies are operating here by purchasing plots in SL. Afterwards, Gold Team pointed to the train they placed in the area and said that this brought the industrial revolution to mind. Then they talked about the problems of the economy and their solutions. They emphasized that with the increase in demand in the economy, resources are consumed quickly and this should be reduced because resources are scarce. Gold Team ended its presentation here and Silver Team started its presentation with the theme of 'Economy'.
Silver Team pointed to the space they were building first, and here they talked about the comparison between Real Life Economy and Second Life Eonomy. Gold Team stated that consumers can buy houses, vehicles, and clothes in SL as in real life. For this reason, they stated that real-life entrepreneurs and SL entrepreneurs are similar to each other. Silver Team also gave examples from SL entrepreneurs. After describing the SL economy, Silver Team talked about the effects of the economic crises and especially the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy around the world. Silver team made a good suggestion for solving the unemployment problem in the economy. They suggested bringing business owners and employees together in SL. They stated that a solution to unemployment, which is one of the biggest problems of the economy, can be found in this way, with the gathering of job seekers and business owners here. Finally, Silver Team stated that since SL is not affected by the pandemic, this platform can be used and contribution to the economy and employment can be made in this way. After Siver Team completed the presentation, Red Team made a presentation with the theme of 'Sustainable Society'.
Red Team first spoke about the goal of 'No Poverty' and explained the sub-items of this goal. Then the team talked about what can be done towards this goal on metaverse platforms. Using NFTs as an example, Red Team offered a proposal that the revenues could be donated to charities by selling NFTs that could be created using metaverse platforms. This team also stated that donations can be collected through various events to be organized on virtual world platforms such as SL, and these donations can also be transferred to charities. The Red Team then continued its presentation with the goal of 'Good Health and Wellbeing'. Red Team stated that towards this goal, doctors and healthcare professionals can come together on Metaverse platforms and share their experiences. Red Team emphasized that this would increase the efficiency of health services and health education all over the world. Red Team then talked about the importance of education in relation to the theme of ‘Sustainable Society’. They emphasized that education is one of the basic human rights and that providing education on equal terms to everyone is important for a sustainable society. Finally, Red Team drew attention to gender equality, which is one of the sustainable society goals. Red team stated that gender equality is not only about basic human rights, but also has a critical importance for a sustainable world. They emphasized that gender equality should be ensured in all parts of society. Finally, Red Team stated that SL offers full equality in this regard. After the Red Team completed its presentation, finally, the Purple Team started its presentation on the theme of ‘sustainable society’.
Purple Team started its presentation by emphasizing the importance of sustainable development and the importance of gender equality in sustainable development. Stating that avatars can be chosen as desired on the SL platform and there is no obstacle here, Purple Team stated that SL contributes to gender equality in this regard. For this reason, Purple mentioned that SL is an ideal platform for raising awareness on this issue. Afterwards, Purple Team talked about another sustainable development goal, ‘quality education’, and the importance of this goal. The team stated that experienced educators can come together at SL and work to improve the quality of education. Team also stated that by creating areas for training in SL such as classrooms, direct training can be given here. Purple team emphasized the importance of developing policies to eliminate inequalities. In addition, the team stated that inequality can be eliminated by building various socializing areas for people on the SL platform. The Purple Team finished its presentation here and we gathered again at the project area center circle.
After the presentations were completed, Accupa Tae gave the closing speech. Accupa here thanked the students for their efforts and hard work. Later, Accupa also thanked the WBH team, course assistants and the audience. Liss from the WBH team also offered her thanks and congratulations.
We congratulate our students for their efforts and successful presentations.