On 25th September 2026, SIMPLE team welcomed the A-SASSY project team and some of their beneficiaries as part of one of their exposure visits, offering the group an inside look at the project’s use of virtual reality for sustainability education. The Building One ASEAN of Sustainability and Solidarity with a Partnership between Youth, CSOs, and the Member States (A-SASSY) project seeks to build partnerships among Southeast Asia’s youth, civil society organizations, and local authorities to strengthen collective regional action on climate change, environmental protection, and disaster risk reduction. A-SASSY’s exposure visits consist in presenting sustainability initiatives to selected students so they can consider how to apply these solutions back home and be durability Ambassadors. 

The visitors had the opportunity to try Opération Zéro Déchet (OZD), one of the Virtual Universes developed under the SIMPLE Project, focusing on waste management. The demonstration was followed by an open discussion, where participants shared recommendations and appreciation for the pedagogical approach developed. They expressed hope that it could soon be applied in different countries and languages, to different topics.

This exchange also provided an opportunity to introduce the SIMPLE VR Contest, now open to university students and faculty across all 11 ASEAN member states. The VR Contest invites participants to apply the same immersive, science-based approach by designing and building their own Virtual Universes around sustainability issues relevant to their communities.

SIMPLE was glad to welcome the A-SASSY team and looks forward to further exchanges between the two projects.