'We have no choice': Why Tuvalu has joined the metaverse | SBS News

Tuvalu said on Tuesday it plans to build a digital version of itself, replicating islands and landmarks and preserving its history and culture as rising sea levels threaten to submerge the tiny Pacific island nation.

Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister Simon Kofe told the COP27 climate summit it was time to look at alternative solutions for his country’s survival and this included Tuvalu becoming the first digitised nation in the metaverse – an online realm that uses augmented and virtual reality (VR) to help users interact.

“Our land, our ocean, our culture are the most precious assets of our people and to keep them safe from harm, no matter what happens in the physical world, we will move them to the cloud,” he said in the video that sees him standing on a digital replica of an islet threatened by rising sea levels.

For more on this story visit:
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-tuvalu-is-building-a-digital-replica-of-itself-in-the-metaverse/30ictx9yl

Subscribe for more from SBS News or visit
https://www.sbs.com.au/news for all the latest updates.

You can also follow us on…

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sbsnews_au?lang=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sbsnews_au/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBSNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sbsnews/
Apple News: https://www.apple.com/au/apple-news/

SBS News is Australia’s trusted news source for the latest news from Australia and across the world.

Network Terms & Conditions: sbs.com.au/terms
Privacy Policy: sbs.com.au/privacy
Feedback or complaints: sbs.com.au/complaints