MolenGeek receives 700 VR devices from Meta to activate 1000 young people for the metaverse
{Brussels, Belgium, 2/12/22} – MolenGeek receives the donation of 700 Meta Quest 2 Virtual Reality headsets through the Meta Immersive Learning Programme. Thanks to this donation, MolenGeek will activate 1000 future virtual creatives across 100 schools, through their hubs in Belgium, Italy, Morocco, and the Netherlands. The donation provides the material means to broaden MolenGeek’s existing objectives with extended reality (XR) technology to train and activate young people for digital futures. Particular focus will be given to in-school interventions and the amplification of XR services across their training offerings. With this grant, MolenGeek’s mission of making technology accessible to all will now extend to the digital tech frontier: the metaverse.
The metaverse will be the next chapter of the internet, which, thanks to augmented and virtual reality technology will make global connections more immersive. As a tech ecosystem headquartered in the heart of Molenbeek, Brussels — a neighborhood with a 40% rate of youth unemployment — MolenGeek has proven how propulsive digital access can be for young people. Meta wants to support that positive initiative. The devices will help young people discover the possibilities of VR, both as users and creators. For Ibrahim Ouassari (Molenbeek native, CEO, and co-founder of MolenGeek) the metaverse is an important opportunity to accurately reflect society in all its diversity.
“We see the metaverse and extended reality tech as a way for our community to design a future in which they want to participate and succeed. Often, these technologies are inaccessible to young people. We want to offer them a meaningful first exposure to the possibilities of XR and the futures they open up. The Meta Immersive Learning Programme donation will make this plan possible.” - Ibrahim Ouassari, CEO of MolenGeek
First Belgian programme
The support for MolenGeek is part of the Meta Immersive Learning programme. With this programme Meta is investing $150 million to help develop and empower the next generation of creators, create immersive experiences that change the way we learn, and increase access to learning through technology. MolenGeek is the first Belgian organisation to participate in this programme. On the occasion of the official handover of the 700 devices, Meta invited also 80 MolenGeek-students to their pop-up Innovation House in Brussels to showcase and inspire them about the possibilities of the metaverse.
We recognize the path to the metaverse will not be created by one company. That’s why we’re working closely with partners to help create a thriving AR/VR ecosystem that will unblock opportunities for creators around the world. In that regard, we believe it is important to make technology accessible to all, both to harness it, as well to help shape it. We believe MolenGeek is a wonderful organization to make that goal happen.” - Arno Lubrun, Country Director of Meta Benelux
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About MolenGeek
MolenGeek was launched by local entrepreneurs. MolenGeek works with talented and motivated young people who are currently unemployed and often do not have a formal academic background. They have seen that when they have access to a supportive community, learning resources, and professional opportunities, these young people can achieve success in the technology sector. Through a unique training methodology — which focuses on group exercises, concrete examples, and autonomous learning — MolenGeek is opening doors to the tech sector for young people of all backgrounds.
Over the past 5 years, at the MolenGeek Brussels headquarters, they have built a community of thousands of active members. The incubator program has supported roughly 50 startups as they incorporate their companies and grow. Since launching the long-term training programs in 2017, MolenGeek has trained more than 1000 young people, with over 85% successful placements into a job, internship, or further training. Over 800 people per year are trained in short-term training programs. Roughly more than 1000 people are welcomed into MolenGeek for events each year.