#BeFearless 2.0: Samsung Launches Second Cycle of VR-Based Personality Development Program

In its second season the #BeFearless campaign will take final shortlist to New York

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 12th 2016:  Samsung has today launched the second season of its #BeFearless campaign that is committed to helping even more young people through the power of virtual reality (VR). It builds on the success of last year’s campaign, with the program rolling out to more countries to help people overcome their insecurities and fears and, as a result, achieve more in life.  

Those interested are welcome to upload their details on to the dedicated microsite available at: http://www.samsung.com/ae/launchingpeople/.Entries close on December 31st. After a screening of the applications, the list of shortlisted candidates will be announced on February 24th. The shortlist will be taken through a series of in-market training courses before joining candidates from the rest of the world in New York for the final event.

#BeFearless 2.0 is a program that is part of Samsung’s Launching People campaign- now in its fourth year. Using virtual reality technology and the Samsung Gear VR, it helps young people to tackle their fears head-on; the program focuses on two of the most common fears - fear of heights and fear of public speaking. The first cycle of #BeFearless has already been heralded a life-changing program by participants who embarked on the experience during the past year. Using the #BeFearless experiences, they were able to gradually face and overcome their fears, and are now no longer held back by these anxieties. 

This year, volunteers in eleven countries will take part in #BeFearless 2.0. Eight locations will be participating in the program for the first time ever- Canada, Korea, Singapore, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Hong Kong, Taiwan. The UAE, Russia, and Austria will be taking part for a second consecutive year.  

Moon Soo Kim, Chief Marketing Officer at Samsung Electronics, said, “We constantly meet young people that have huge amounts of ability and the potential to do great things - not just for themselves but for wider communities. However, for some, their inner fears can get in the way of success. We tell them: Fear ends where courage begins. We know that the immersive virtual reality technology of the Samsung Gear VR can help them, and it’s always great to see them gain confidence thanks to the Gear VR. We really want to spread the word around the world, to help more people unleash their potential.” 

Marco Vocale, Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung Gulf Electronics added, “VR is finding significant interest and applications in industries and sectors beyond entertainment. The success of the #BeFearless campaign goes out to show that VR can be used in self-development and can add real value to one’s life. That is the kind of added value we hope to achieve across our product ecosystem.”

The #BeFearless VR experiences are now available - for free - to everybody with a Samsung Gear VR headset, and have already seen more than 320,000 downloads. Before the app was developed, Samsung teamed up with medical professionals to find out how an exposure to challenging situations through virtual experience can help people master their fears in real life. According to its two-week research with doctors at the Yonsei University Gangnam Severance Hospital in South Korea, they achieved a success rate of nearly 90 percent in reducing 82 participants’ anxiety of public speaking and heights through #BeFearless VR training.

During last year’s #BeFearless campaign, 27 people took part in a series of virtual reality training sessions using the Samsung Gear VR. The virtual but immersive exposure to challenging situations - like speaking in public or being close to heights - helped them master these tasks in real life. As a result of their VR experience, all participants are now able to do more things than they could before, having been freed from their fears of heights and public speaking. Some even celebrated their success by embarking on real life challenges in Dubai - speaking in front of a large crowd at the city’s Courtyard Playhouse theatre, or by taking the zip line challenge at Dubai Mall.