Immersive Storytelling for Social Change: Participatory XR Design and Cultural Inclusion

Extended Reality (XR) is increasingly discussed as a tool for promoting diversity and inclusion in education and digital entertainment. At the same time, it carries the risk of reproducing existing inequalities when design decisions are not made consciously and participatively. This work addresses the question of how XR can be specifically deployed to make cultural perspectives of marginalized ethnic and cultural groups visible and experienceable. The focus lies on a conceptual proposal for an immersive XR tool that translates everyday experiences from the lived reality of persons from marginalized ethnic or cultural groups into narrative VR scenarios. The analysis shows how affective learning, perspective-taking and cultural empathy can be promoted through immersive experiences – and under which conditions such an approach should be implemented in an ethically responsible manner.