The small island nation of Tuvalulocated in the Pacific Ocean and made up of nine islands, is trying in every way to survive in the face of the threat generated by rising sea levels.
With 12 thousand inhabitants, the great fear is that everything will cease to exist one day. It was thinking about avoiding this that the local population decided to embark on a curious idea: becoming the first digital nation in the world.
With the help of tools from the metaverseTuvalu aims to save its own history and heritage by becoming a place fully present in the virtual world.
Accelerated rise in sea level
The small island nation of Tuvalu, which has just 12 thousand inhabitants, is at risk of disappearing – Photo: Reproduction
Fear is a constant among the residents of Tuvalu. The local government works with the estimate that by 2050, half of the area of the capital Funafuti will be flooded by sea waters.
The situation is considered serious. Today, high tides are enough to flood 40% of the capital district. As sea levels rise, the issue is likely to get even worse.
The prospect is that the entire country will cease to exist or be submerged by the end of the century, if no more incisive measures are adopted in the coming years.
Digital solution in Tuvalu
As urgency is part of the reality of the 12 thousand residents of the island nation, the Minister of Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs, Simon Kofe, decided to turn to digital.
He reported, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), held in November, that Tuvalu could lose all of its heritage and culture.
To counter this, the decision was made to transform the country into a digital world, with the aim of preserving local memory. According to Kofe, there is no other alternative than this.
“Islands like ours cannot withstand rapidly escalating temperatures, rising sea levels and droughts. Therefore, we will recreate them virtually”, he said at COP27.
How will this decision work?
To promote the entry and presence of Tuvalu in the metaverse, the agency The Monkeys and the production company Collider joined together to catalogue, record, map and copy historical documents, cultural elementsfamily photos, music and all other aspects linked to local culture.
The idea is to obtain as much information and cultural heritage from the country as possible to replicate them digitally.
In the first phase, work is focused on creating a replica of Teafualiku Island, which is the smallest of Tuvalu’s nine islands and the closest to ceasing to exist.
The population can follow the entire update process of “Tuvalu of the metaverse” on the Tuvalu.tv website. All details are being published on the portal. Is this the future of the world?
