Sitting in the office swivel chair, I was skeptical that anything would make me look and act like the people around me spinning in circles, gaping and pointing, pointing their chins up and down and all around.
I pulled the headphones over my ears, fastened the headset to my face, and waited for the start of a virtual reality film titled “Inside Impact: East Africa.” I was transported from the Social Innovation Summit in Silicon Valley, California, to Tanzania, where I sat in a room with Bill Clinton and a Solar Sister entrepreneur. While I did not want to leave this world, where I was just steps from the former president in a quiet living room with kids watching from the corner and birds chirping outside, another part of me wanted to reach out and say something to Robert Holzer, the executive producer of the film who stood right beside me.
A week earlier, I was in Peru with the former president, in real life, reporting for Devex on Clinton Foundation projects in the country, and it was both scary and exciting to admit that the encounter inside the headset felt almost as real.
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
