How can Extended Reality (XR) be harnessed as a force for good?
A conversation with Martine Jarlgaard.
Emerging technologies present us with a dual reality: they raise complex ethical questions, yet they also offer powerful opportunities to drive positive change. To build a positive, compassionate future for people and the planet—we need the ability to imagine one. With 3.32 billion video gamers globally, Extended Reality (XR), such as Virtual and Augmented Reality, is becoming a significant cultural force. By blending the physical and digital world, individuals are able to step into the shoes of others, and experience global challenges and their own role in new ways.
UN Live has spoken to regenerative business strategist, Technology Pioneer (recognised by Forbes and Fast Company), and artist, Martine Jarlgaard, whose work spans emerging technologies, impact, sustainability, and storytelling.
As part of UN Live’s mission to drive change through popular culture, we explore how games and XR can be designed for impact—highlighting how these mediums raise awareness and inspire action, such as Jarlgaard’s latest initiative “EIWAZ TREE OF LIFE”, that raised $500,000 to plant 200,000 mangrove and peatland trees, delivering measurable environmental impact.
According to data from early 2024, there are approximately 3.32 billion active video gamers globally. How can gaming and Extended Reality (XR) shape how we engage with global issues, and contribute to a more positive future?
Extended Reality (XR) allows us to immerse ourselves in interactive experiences, which transcend geographic, social and cultural limitations, whether that be visiting remote, endangered ecosystems, or attending virtual live concerts.
It has the power to reframe how we understand and engage with global challenges—making complex issues such as climate change, inequality, and social justice not only visible but felt through interactive experiences. This can help dissolve distance and enable us to learn and emotionally connect with perspectives and narratives we might otherwise never encounter.
At the intersection of XR, gaming, and popular culture lies a unique opportunity to illuminate blind spots and break through barriers that otherwise hinder transformation. My work centres on how interdisciplinary value creation—when guided by strategic vision, storytelling, and design — can drive cultural and business transformation. From immersive fashion shows to mixed reality installations, and gamification of consciousness and biodiversity, I focus on creating experiences and impact ventures that catalyse empathy, shift mindsets, and open new paths toward regenerative innovation.
Photo: MEET YOURSELF at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2018. Watch the Fast Company video feature about MEET YOURSELF here.
MEET YOURSELF is one example of a mixed reality installation showcased at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark in 2018. It examined how interactive art can reveal hidden aspects of self-perception, such as unnoticed negative self-images, lack of self-compassion, and through this expand the sense of self.
The immersive experience allowed visitors to stand face-to-face with a life-size, holographic avatar of themselves, created through a 3D scan. Participants could walk around their avatar, simulating a real out-of-body experience. Audience observations revealed that many participants treated their virtual avatars with more kindness than they showed themselves.
It is interesting to see how interactive experiences can shift perspectives, and the possibilities that brings. Your game “EIWAZ TREE OF LIFE” is a great example of how XR can be woven into climate action in a way that feels both engaging and impactful. Can you tell us more about how the impact came to life?
During the pandemic, I found myself reading alarming reports of rainforests disappearing at an unprecedented rate. The sense of hopelessness and grief from witnessing the loss of our natural world made me wonder how we can spark hope and action by bridging gamified, interactive experiences with actual climate action.
This idea took root during one of my lockdown walks in Copenhagen, where a Danish saying; "Træerne vokser ikke ind i himlen" ("Trees don’t grow into the sky”), echoed in my mind. This phrase felt limiting, like a restriction on how big you’re allowed to dream. I began envisioning a monumental “Tree of Life” growing into the sky as a monument for, and tribute to, nature.
This vision materialised through EIWAZ TREE OF LIFE, an interactive Augmented Reality experience available worldwide and free to download (2021-2024). Inspired by Yggdrasil, the cosmic World Tree in Norse mythology, symbolising interconnectedness and regeneration – the experience blended local ancestral wisdom, XR, and impact innovation.
To create the virtual Yggdrasil, a drone was used to 3D scan an Ash tree from Karen Blixen's garden, forming the core digital asset. VR sculpting of ribcage and spine elements was done by hand and layered onto the 3D asset to portray how nature and humanity are deeply interwoven.
Photos: From Augmented Reality (AR) EIWAZ TREE OF LIFE experience and app.
The mission was to protect Yggdrasil from human destruction. If successful, a glowing seed would appear, allowing users to grow a virtual tree. This resulted in a (pre-funded) tree being planted in the real world. The app also provided transparency and education, revealing the species planted and highlighting the vital role of mangroves for carbon capture and coastal protection.
Through a regenerative funding model which amplified value creation for all stakeholders, $500,000 was raised to make EIWAZ TREE OF LIFE a reality. The funding secured biodiversity conservation and the planting of 200,000 mangrove and peatland trees across fragile ecosystems – planted across the Philippines by Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Borneo by Borneo Nature Foundation, and Myanmar by Worldview International Foundation via Cemasys.
Photo: Mangrove tree nurseries in Dacutan, Dumangas in the Philippines. Photos by ZSL.
Working across different cultural genres such as fashion, art and gaming, what are the best examples that you can give of how popular culture can move hearts and minds, and drive change in society?
As a sustainability strategist in the beauty industry and through my work with brands like Vivienne Westwood and Diesel, I’ve seen how popular culture can drive real change—more effectively than policy alone. When vision, ambition, and long-term commitment align, the potential to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals is immense.
While scientific data is essential, it often fails to resonate emotionally until translated into relatable, human stories. From Hollywood to Chanel, indigenous wisdom to gaming, storytelling connects us to something greater—and remains one of our most powerful tools for change.
As an example, gaming platforms demonstrate significant potential for impact and fundraising. In 2022, Epic Games raised $144 million for Ukrainian relief in just two weeks through Fortnite in-game purchases, highlighting how interactive experiences can mobilise substantial resources. Similarly, Reporters Without Borders launched the "Uncensored Library" in Minecraft 2020, using the platform to promote press freedom by giving players access to banned journalism in countries where information is censored.
Source: Pinterest, Vivienne Westwood.
Fashion has long shaped social discourse — challenging perceptions around identity, bodies, and societal roles. From Mary Quant’s 1960s liberating mini dresses, to punk’s anti-establishment ethos, clothing is a powerful form of expression. Few illustrate this more vividly than Vivienne Westwood. From famously styling the punk band Sex Pistols, to provocative graphics such as Queen Elizabeth II with safety pins, her designs confronted the British establishment—turning her collections into platforms for advocating critical thinking, consumerism, human rights, and limiting climate change.
Pura Utz offers another compelling example of a contemporary social-impact business centred on traditional Guatemalan beadwork with fair trade practices that empower women artisans. This model shows how honoring cultural heritage, embracing transparency and thoughtful branding can preserve indigenous craftsmanship, deepen consumer engagement, and achieve commercial success.
Source: Pura Utz website.
Yet, the fashion, luxury, and beauty industries remain amongst the world’s most resource-intensive and polluting sectors. Regenerative leaders of the future recognise that values, ethics, transparency, and accountability are as fundamental as brand, product and aesthetics.
Despite growing sustainability efforts, a paradox persists: as long as business models remain extractive and linear, true sustainability will remain elusive. Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals demands a shift to circular, regenerative practices—reimagining how we define and measure value. The question is no longer whether industries like fashion, gaming, beauty, and XR can drive systemic change, but whether they will choose to embrace the responsibility and opportunities.
To stay grounded in human connection and true sustainability, how can we strike a balance between this and the growing use and reliance on digital and virtual technologies?
To a great extent, humanity has designed itself out of nature. Now it is time we design ourselves back into it. This requires us to understand how deeply interconnected with and dependent upon nature we are.
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes more integrated into our lives, an important question emerges: how does it portray humanity when built on fragmented data imbued with biases and systemic discrimination? This question made me imagine our relationship with AI through A(I) DANCE—humanity and AI as partners intertwined in a dance. Is it graceful and harmonious, or unsettling and erratic?
With technology increasingly influencing our thoughts, behaviors, and relationships, it becomes ever more urgent to protect what makes us human. To reclaim agency and lead the A(I) DANCE, we must learn to navigate and master the very technologies designed to master us. The human brain has a remarkable ability to change and adapt. Simple daily rituals—pausing, reflecting, connecting—anchor us in presence and humanity. This is where we’re at our most creative. This is where dreams grow.
Stephen Hawking reminded us: "Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet." In today’s world this might have been: “Look up at the stars—not down at your screens.”
Image: (A)I DANCE - humanity and AI in a dance by Martine Jarlgaard (2024).
Museum for the United Nations – UN Live is a borderless museum for the people and the world. We harness the power of popular culture to ignite positive global action and, ultimately, to cultivate a sense of global belonging – a 'Global We' – that unites humanity in facing our world's challenges together.
Thank you to Martine Jarlgaard for her valuable insights and thought-provoking perspective on how emerging technologies and gaming can be used for good.
If you're interested in more ways interactive experiences can deepen human connection, Jarlgaard’s upcoming impact venture “Interspecies Synchrony”, explores exactly this. Through neuroscience research, scalable technology, and culturally resonant experiences, Jarlgaard’s new initiative addresses mental health while fostering individual well-being, social cohesion, digital humanism, and ecological regeneration in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Interspecies Synchrony will be launched in partnership with the DTU Neuroscience and Social Interaction SINe Lab, the Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence, and a growing coalition of international stakeholders.
Follow her work here: www.martinejarlgaard.com
“Our future depends on our capacity to imagine it. If we cannot envision a just, thriving and joyful world for all, how can we hope to bring it to life?”