New Technology Division of the Institute of National Remembrance part of the Metaverse Committee

Magdalena Hajduk, Director of the New Technology Division of the Institute of National Remembrance, has become a member of the Metaverse Committee, the new initiative of ZCP (Digital Poland Association). ZCP is a sector-specific organisation of employees, bringing together the largest companies from the electronics and IT sectors operating in Poland.

The established committee consists of a large group of representatives of the most important technology companies, institutions and the scientific world, not only members of the Digital Poland Association. The activities of the group are managed by Andrzej Horoch, an expert in immersive technologies and the metaverse, the owner of Connected Realities. Apart from Magdalena Hajduk, the group of specialists includes Dominik Dobek (Digital Poland Association), Mateusz Krupczyński (CEE at Meta), Aldona Zawada (Meta), Michał Kanownik (Digital Europe), Andrzej Urbańczyk (Orange), Paweł Tuszyński (Orange), Agnieszka Sygitowicz (Lodz Special Economic Zone), Marcin Sugak (Digital Poland Association), Ewelina Danowska (Ericsson Telecommunications Inc.), Damian Prokopowicz (PZU), Jagna Pomorska and Krzysztof Jasiński (ConnectedRealities.eu), dr. Katarzyna Chojecka (Cisco), Konrad Maj (SWPS University) Tomasz Dobosz (VR Heroes), Kamila Zawistowska (Accenture) Adam Jasser (Visegrad Insight), prof. Piotr Skrzypczyński (Poznań University of Technology), Bartosz Zuk (HTC) Jerzy Brodzikowski (Cambridge Innovation Center Warsaw).

The initiator of the committee was Meta. The company, mainly known as the owner of Facebook, has been working on reviving the metaverse for years. The inaugural meeting of the group was attended by Markus Reinisch, Meta’s Vice President for Public Policy in Europe.

Jakub Turowski, Meta’s Public Policy Director for Central and Eastern Europe, emphasises that the reports published by the company clearly indicate the growing role of the metaverse in the digital economy: – In the European Union, the value of the VR and AR market reached EUR 7 billion in 2021, and it is expected to increase to EUR 34 billion over the next three years. Calculations related to the impact of the metaverse on the European and Polish economies leave no illusions that we should invest in the development of that technology. Its potential is huge and can only be achieved through joint efforts and cooperation of technology companies, decision makers, civil society and others – stresses Jakub Turowski.

The main task of the Committee is to develop a concept of cooperation between companies, university representatives or NGOs involved in the development of the metaverse, using the new technology and analysing its potential. Specialists will analyse the possibilities of using the metaverse platform and the prospects for its further development. The first meeting of the Metaverse Committee took place on 15 June at the Meta office at the Roundabout of the UN in Warsaw. Four more meetings will take place by the end of the year, resulting in a final report with key findings on the metaverse development strategy, VR and AR technologies and regulations.