Pro Senectute wants to set up digital branches in the Metaverse

A regional branch in northwestern Switzerland of the prominent Swiss nationwide non-profit organisation (NPO) Pro Senectute is venturing into the Metaverse. "Specifically, we have secured plots on two platforms with the vision of setting up a Metaverse branch of Pro Senectute there. One plot was secured on Sandbox, two plots were secured on Decentraland," says Michael Harr, Managing Director of Pro Senectute beider Basel.

Architect wanted for the virtual branch

At the moment, says Harr, "we are looking for architects to design the Pro Senectute branch in the Metaverse for us". Later, hardware such as virtual reality headsets will probably be purchased "to enable senior citizens to enter the Metaverse in courses and to advise them in the process".

Expert: "Perky and brave".

It is surprising that a senior citizens' organisation, of all things, is taking the step into the metaverse. Is it perhaps even the first Swiss NPO organisation in the digital land of tomorrow? "I don't have a complete overview, but I don't know of many Swiss NGOs and NPOs with a branch in the metaverse. The topic is still very niche," says Philipp Semmler, Chief Innovation Officer of the Zurich advertising agency Inhalt und Form, who is setting up the Metaverse unit Iundf Neo for the company.

Semmler finds Pro Senectute's move into the immersive internet "as bold as it is courageous. If you don't do anything, you don't learn anything.

School the old. And pick up younger ones early

Going into the Metaverse is all about learning for Michael Harr: "Firstly, older people, including those with a handicap, could possibly experience things in the Metaverse that they could not do in real life. This way, we can also bring older people closer to technology."

Harr's second topic: "With a Metaverse presence, we want to pick up people in a forward-looking way who will also enter the Pro Senectute age segment in the near future." What is important to the Pro-Senectute manager: "The Metaverse presence should complement our activities in the real world in a future-oriented way, but by no means replace them.

Refinance land costs via NFT sale

Harr says that 15,000 Swiss francs were spent on acquiring the plots on Sandbox and Decentraland. These costs are to be refinanced through the sale of virtual assets, non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These NFTs are created on the basis of landscape photos by Swiss influencer Marcus Händel, aka Quintner, who runs the Instagram account @visitswitzerland with over 800,000 followers.

4444 of these NFTs are to be sold from October onwards at a price of 66 francs each, which in the best case will flush a good 300,000 francs into the Metaverse coffers of Pro Senectute beider Basel.

High hurdles for the two chosen platforms

Harr explains that it is not the entire Swiss Pro Senectute that is putting on the data helmet for the journey into the metaverse, but rather only a regional branch that is starting out: "The cantonal Pro Senectute organisations are all independent foundations. Pro Senectute beider Basel wants to act with foresight and keep up with technological developments. We used to be ahead of the game in the NPO world."

If Metaverse expert Semmler has something to criticise about Pro Senectute beider Basel's move, it would be a technology issue: "With Sandbox and Decentraland, Pro Senectute has chosen two rather high-threshold platforms. You get the best gaming experience there when you connect via a personal crypto-wallet."

A platform like Spatial would probably have been easier for users to access and cheaper for Pro Senectute as an organisation to design and operate, says Semmler, "since virtual land does not have to be acquired first". However, Semmler sees more positives than concerns in Operation AHVtar: "The main thing is that the organisation dares to do something.

Source: Handelszeitung