OPENVERSE · OPEN and co-created ViRtual worldS for Europe

Europe calls for the emergence of virtual worlds that characterises themselves for being open, transparent, inclusive, ethically and environmentally responsible, but also capable of restoring the technological sovereignty of EU industry in the global scenario of competition. Such European virtual worlds would foster the following benefits: a) Higher accessibility, greater freedom and control, lower barriers to entry and more equitable distribution of resources; b) Interoperability, privacy and security as well as data ownership: open human-centric virtual worlds would be able tointeroperate with each other; c) More innovation, creativity, and social benefits: open human-centric virtual worlds would foster a collaborative environment where developers and users could work together to create new experiences and features. In that regards, the overarching aim of OPENVERSE is to contribute to laying the foundations of such European virtual worlds by establishing a knowledge base on it, setting up and animating a community of stakeholders, testing a methodology that combines user co-creation and XR in real world cases of industrial and societal relevance, exploring relevant ethical, legal, IPR and single market challenges, and producing industry standards as well as a technology andpolicy roadmap and recommendations to guide the future establishment of the Open virtual worlds concept in Europe and worldwide.