Immersive 360 films give a voice to young female changemakers and new Lenovo research uncovers global views on technology and empathy
October 8, 2020 – Today, Lenovo, championed by Girl Up, the gender equality initiative of the United Nation Foundation (UNF), and filmmaker Ava DuVernay, launches New Realities – a dynamic artistic project celebrating women who are using smart technology to showcase and solve global social issues and empower empathy.
New Realities features immersive, first-person cinematic experiences that help give a voice to difference-making women in 10 markets around the world during a time of global upheaval in the COVID-19 pandemic and ahead of International Day of the Girl (celebrated on Sunday, October 11). The project comes off the heels of new research conducted by Lenovo that reveals technology has made people more empathetic toward different viewpoints in their communities.
Captured over the last four months using 360-degree storytelling, New Realities chronicles the individual journeys of a courageous, diverse group of 10 young women using technology to achieve their dreams, such as supporting a social cause, creating thought-provoking art/music or providing a desperately needed service in their community. The films help give each woman their own voice and shine a light on the role smart technology plays in furthering their missions to drive empathy and a positive change in society. The films’ changemakers hail from Brazil, China, France, Germany India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the UK and the US.
In addition to the films’ chronicling the women’s missions, Lenovo – in partnership with Girl Up – is funding $100,000 in grants for these young women to pursue fields of study that align with their goals. The young women have received mentorship through a newly created Global Ambassadors Program – featuring mentors hand-selected by Ava DuVernay’s team at ARRAY and access to resources from Lenovo, ARRAY, and Girl Up. Each of the women has also received Lenovo and Motorola technology to support their mission, such as the enterprise-grade ThinkPad™ X1 Yoga™ laptop for coding, the Yoga C940 for music or the Motorola Edge for communication and on-the-go computing.
Ava DuVernay, American filmmaker, commented: “I’m eager to stand with Lenovo to highlight the strong work of ten talented young women around the world who have used technology to bring their missions to life in extraordinary ways. My colleagues at ARRAY and I created this mentorship as part of a vital effort to empower the next generation of women leaders. I applaud each of these young women for sharing their stories with the world through Lenovo’s New Realities. At such a pivotal time in our world’s history, it is imperative that we hold hands and march toward a more inclusive society where all are valued and embraced.”
To access the New Realities microsite, please visit www.lenovo.com/NewRealities.
COMING INTO VIEW: A NEW, MORE EMPATHETIC WORLD
Research Lenovo conducted alongside New Realities reinforces a need and desire for empathy amid a global crisis and underscores the true importance of the work being done by the project’s 10 influential changemakers. True to its mission of providing smarter technology for all, Lenovo understands the importance of hearing and portraying diverse points of view and believes smart technology is driving empathy around the world.
Of the 15,000+ global respondents in 10 markets around the globe, two-thirds state that technology has made people more empathetic towards different viewpoints in their communities as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Key takeaways from the findings, detailed in the New Realities: Empathy and Technology Report, include:
- More Appreciation for Tech in New Normal: The new research highlights a change in people’s relationships with tech all over the world, especially during the pandemic. 79% of respondents say they feel more comfortable with their personal tech capabilities after COVID-19, with another 79% believing that they will be more appreciative of technology overall.
- Tech Empowers Change Agents to Have a Voice: A majority (73%) of respondents believe technological advancements have a positive impact on the ability of young people to engage with major societal issues.
- Younger Generations Empowered By Tech To Better Understand One Another: The optimism for technology bridging the empathy gap is felt more widely in younger generations, where a little over three quarters (76%) of Gen Z and 71% of Millennials participating in this research agreed that during the pandemic, technology has made them more empathetic to their communities as well as enabling them to put themselves in the shoes of others that might have very different lives to them.
- Tech Companies Should Power Change: Nine-in-ten global participants (89%) believe tech companies need to change in a post-COVID-19 world to use their tech to help address major societal issues
Dilip Bhatia, Chief Customer Experience Officer of Lenovo, commented: “At Lenovo, we strive to be more than just a technology provider. We want to empower people to use smart technology for positive change. This research validates the need for our role to go beyond powering the technology needs of the world; it’s about technology enabling empathy and empowering future generations to live out their missions and be difference makers.”
To access the New Realities: Empathy and Technology Report, please visit www.lenovo.com/newrealities.
About New Realities: Empathy and Technology Report
This new global research study surveyed more than 15,000 people in eight languages across 10 global markets: Brazil, China, France, Germany India, Italy, Japan, Mexico the UK and the US. The research builds on Lenovo’s journey toward understanding the power of empathy, which began in 2019 with the “This is Life” global campaign and uncovered that people believe smarter technology has the power to make people more empathetic, allowing them to experience the world through the eyes of others and connect across languages, cultures, and geographies like never before.
About Girl Up
Girl Up is a global leadership development initiative, positioning girls to be leaders in the movement for gender equality. With resources in six languages and 4,000 Girl Up Clubs in more than 125 countries, we’ve trained 75,000 girls of all backgrounds to create tangible change for girls everywhere.
Girl Up provides leadership training and gives girls tools to become gender equality advocates and activists. Through our programs, girls broaden their social impact skill set, benefit from a platform to tell their stories, and apply STEM for social good. Our girl leaders create real policy change at local and national levels, help raise millions of dollars to support United Nations programs that reach tens of thousands of girls around the world, and build community-based movements.
Girl Up was founded by the United Nations Foundation in 2010 and continues to work across a global community of partners to achieve gender equality worldwide.
About ARRAY
ARRAY is a multi-platform media company and arts collective based in Los Angeles. Founded in 2012 by filmmaker Ava DuVernay, the company currently operates a trio of branded entertainment entities: ARRAY Releasing, ARRAY Filmworks and ARRAY Creative Campus in partnership with the non-profit cinema and social justice organization ARRAY Alliance. www.arraynow.com
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$50 billion Fortune Global 500 company, with 63,000 employees and operating in 180 markets around the world. Focused on a bold vision to deliver smarter technology for all, we are developing world-changing technologies that create a more inclusive, trustworthy and sustainable digital society. By designing, engineering and building the world’s most complete portfolio of smart devices and infrastructure, we are also leading an Intelligent Transformation – to create better experiences and opportunities for millions of customers around the world. To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Weibo and read about the latest news via our StoryHub.
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