Last week, the OPENVERSE project took part in FUTUROMUNDO CYBERLÄND: Immersive Future Convention, held in Stuttgart as part of the wider FUTUROMUNDO Cross Innovation Conference + Festival. Organised under the patronage of Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Skilled Trades and Tourism, alongside MFG Baden-Württemberg and acameo GbR, the event brought together voices from industry, research, education, politics and the creative sector to explore the future of XR, AI and spatial media.
“Immersive technologies are no longer merely a vision of the future, but a strategic building block for developing innovative business models, securing a skilled workforce and optimising processes. Targeted support for these technologies contributes to Baden-Württemberg’s competitiveness and autonomy. Events such as FUTUROMUNDO CYBERLÄND create space for innovation and raise the international profile of our stakeholders in Baden-Württemberg”, said Dr Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister for Economic Affairs, Skilled Trades and Tourism, at FUTUROMUNDO.
CYBERLÄND, the regional platform dedicated to immersive and metaverse-related technologies, shares much of OPENVERSE’s own mission: connecting companies, research institutions and service providers around the practical, application-driven adoption of immersive tools. Where CYBERLÄND has built this bridge at the Baden-Württemberg level and in Germany, offering use cases, matchmaking and support for skills development, OPENVERSE is extending a similar model across broader regional and European borders, linking businesses and innovation ecosystems well beyond a single state.
Being present at CYBERLÄND was a natural fit. Alongside more than 20 exhibits showcasing the latest in immersive technology, OPENVERSE representatives were on hand throughout the convention to meet participants, discuss the project’s goals, and guide interested visitors to the Observatory, OPENVERSE’s dedicated space for tracking trends, tools and opportunities across the European immersive technology landscape.
Conversations at the Stuttgart event also focused on what’s ahead. The Ministry’s own remarks captured the moment well: as Minister Dr Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut noted, immersive technologies have moved from future vision to strategic necessity. Events like FUTUROMUNDO CYBERLÄND are essential for raising the international profile of regional innovation stakeholders. OPENVERSE fully shares this outlook and is looking to build on it at the next major milestone.
CYBERLÄND VR
The event was also a hybrid one, integrating Virtual Worlds into its programme to extend its reach and accessibility as well as to demonstrate the kinds of thought exchange and community facilitation that virtual worlds inherently offer. Lukasz Porwol and Michael Barngrover represented the OPENVERSE project as speakers in the Immersive X × CYBERLÄND VR panel, “The European Vision for XR: Trust, Democracy and Inclusion in Virtual Worlds.” Held in the ENGAGE platform as part of the FUTUROMUNDO track, the discussion addressed the current state and future direction of Europe’s XR and virtual worlds ecosystem, including questions of trust, democratic participation, inclusion, platform governance and digital sovereignty. You may watch the recording of their panel discussion here below.
Save the date: Virtual Worlds Summit, Brussels, September
OPENVERSE used its time at CYBERLÄND to invite attendees to the upcoming Virtual Worlds Summit, taking place in Brussels this September. The Summit will bring together the same spirit of cross-sector dialogue seen in Stuttgart but with a distinctly European lens, deepening collaboration between policymakers, businesses and innovators working on immersive and virtual world technologies across the continent.
If you met the OPENVERSE team in Stuttgart, or simply want to learn more about the Observatory and what’s coming in Brussels, stay tuned for further details in the weeks ahead.
