Visit The White House in 360 virtual reality

The VR tour is narrated by president Barack Obama and The First Lady.

(Credits: The White House via Facebook)

Kori Schulman, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief Digital Officer at the White House, writes on her blog: “It rests on the land chosen by a revolutionary. It was designed by an Irish immigrant, it was built by slaves, and it has been home to every president since John and Abigail Adams first came through its doors. It is the White House, the People’s House, and it belongs to all who call this country home.”

The 360 virtual tour was made in collaboration with Facebook’s Oculus and Felix & Paul Studios.

Virtual reality is becoming an very useful tool for governments, in particular when it comes to digital diplomacy.

In January last year, the United Nations launched Clouds Over Sidra, its first-ever VR film about refugee crisis affecting Syria. The movie, first launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2015, is created by UN advisor Gabo Arora and filmaker Chris Milk. It documents the life of Sidra, a 12-year-old girl at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, home to some 130,000 Syrians refugees.

Here more VR projects launched in 2016:

2016 in review: virtual reality for digital diplomacy_From Syria to Iraq, from culture and heritage to disaster response, the use of VR in foreign policy is growing._medium.com

War and ISIS in virtual reality_How VR can provide a new level of understanding_medium.com