Project overview
Meet the Soldier employs virtual reality technology to facilitate dialogue between former adversaries in Uganda’s Karamoja region, where cattle-raid violence has perpetuated intergenerational conflict.
Context
The region’s environmental pressures and livestock dependency create cycles of scarcity and retaliation. Young men face pressure to participate in raids for sustenance, status, or marriage prospects — decisions that entrench communities in prolonged violence and trauma.
Approach
The VR documentary places two rival fighters in a digital space to encounter each other’s humanity directly. Viewers experience the encounter in immersive 360° format, revealing the fighters’ families, fears and motivations beyond the conflict narrative.
Impact
Local testimony demonstrates measurable outcomes:
“The two warriors are good friends now. The film has bonded them together.” — Fr. Paul Ngole, Moroto
Fr. Ngole noted the initiative “changed the lives of my people.” The project illustrates technology’s potential for peacebuilding by creating psychological and emotional space for understanding — essential groundwork for reconciliation.
