Legacy – Does a Virtual Legacy Mean Any Less than a Physical One? #55 #cong24 #legacy

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1. A legacy’s value lies in its emotional and inspirational impact, whether physical or virtual.
2. Digital creations can serve as powerful reminders of the people who made them.
3. Stories of resilience highlight both the strength and fragility of human hope.
4. Honoring legacies involves preserving their meaning and sharing them to inspire others.

Camille is a Virtual Reality producer and advocate for Immersive Technologies. She runs Eirmersive, the voice of the Irish Immersive sector. She is passionate about the positive transformational power of immersive mediums and how they can impact humanity.

You can see contact Camille by email or connect with her on LinkedIn

By Camille Donegan

Maya Angelou famously said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

This week, the VR global community mourned the unexpected loss of Daniel Bryant, a Welsh virtual world-builder and educator. Many people, shocked by his death, commented on how they had entered the industry because of him. He was hugely generous with his time and talent. Reflecting on our many meetings, two moments stood out to me. One was when he told me about his new campervan and his plans to explore the Scottish Highlands—a dream that sparked my own wanderlust. The other was when he was helping Solas VR, the meditation start-up I was working with, to customise spaces for our virtual sessions. He brought us into a space beneath a colossal tree, its chaotic, meandering branches forming a wild, organic cathedral of sorts. He had built the tree as a personal project, but he saw how it could become a sanctuary for meditation. Avatars could even climb into the branches to meditate aloft, enveloped in tranquility. It was uniquely Daniel: innovative, thoughtful, and generous.

I am certain that was just one of countless virtual worlds he created—worlds where others learned, connected, and found inspiration. His creations, though digital, resonate profoundly in the memories of those he touched.

Another legacy weighed on my heart recently. Kandaliss, a young woman I had worked with on Lost & Found, an immersive empathy film about homelessness, also passed away unexpectedly. The film told the stories of six people who had endured homelessness and emerged on the other side, filmed in the “forever homes” they fought so hard to secure. Kandaliss, fierce and articulate, became a powerful advocate for the film. Her words were magnetic, bordering on spoken word, and in every auditorium where she spoke, you could hear a pin drop. Her voice commanded attention not just for her story but for the stories of so many others.

At her virtual funeral, I found myself questioning the legacy of that film. Does it live on after her? Should it? Could it? Her family might have to approve its continued use. Should it now include an addendum, acknowledging the poignancy of her own struggle—a struggle that ultimately reclaimed her?

Both Daniel and Kandaliss, taken too soon, left legacies that, while virtual, carry immense weight. Their lives remind us that a legacy is not merely what we leave behind but how it shapes and moves others.

For Daniel, perhaps we could honour him with a promenade virtual funeral, walking through the digital worlds he so lovingly created. His spaces could become a tapestry of remembrance, woven with the stories of those who were inspired by him. For Kandaliss, could we continue sharing Lost & Found, reframing it not only as a story of hope but also as a call to action, a deeper reflection on how fragile that hope can be?

Does a virtual legacy mean any more or less than a physical one? People celebrate the legacies of great writers and artists through the tangible works they left behind. Yet, in a world increasingly shaped by digital connections, a virtual legacy holds just as much power to inspire, console, and endure. Its meaning, like any legacy, depends on the human soul behind it and the ways it touches others.

Thank you, Daniel and Kandaliss, for your virtual legacies. You have left us not just with memories but with questions worth exploring, stories worth retelling, and worlds worth revisiting. I hope to continue honouring you both, bringing others along on the journey to remember and celebrate the beauty you shared.