thank you good evening when looking for
justice when looking for solutions and
one would be looking in the first place
to get the facts right to get the
stories right especially when it comes
to big conflicts it’s very important
that you get the story at least right of
the victims of the things that happen
and that’s where I that’s where
journalism steps in that’s mainly the
reason what I do today if I’m a war
reporter if I’m a war journalist I do
that because I think it’s very important
that we should at least try to get the
picture right for people that at least
they would understand what we’re talking
about but then again let’s be honest and
let’s be real the war in Syria is going
on for nearly six years who’s still
interested in it when was the last time
that one of you ever really read an
article about Syria or SAR report that
really you still get connected we’re a
bit bored of it avoids going on for five
years it has become statistics whether I
would say in a report that ten people
get killed a hundred people get killed a
thousand people get killed will probably
say ok one more story out of that Syria
we know that story already but still we
should bring the story but what if there
would be a new way of telling stories
what if there would be a new technology
that allows you instead of what we
normally do go there make a story and
bring it back what if there would be a
technology that would turn everything
upside down and instead of bringing
stories back a way that would take you
it’s in the beginning of the war I’ve
been to Syria every year sometimes
multiple times and one of the stories
that I brought a couple of times was the
story of young people in Syria who in a
way cook crude oil a second story that I
brought in 360 was the story of a city
that is completely deserted but then
again let me first start with the begin
at the beginning of course is my first
love and that’s radio to be honest there
is no better form of media and radio I
know television was invented
unfortunately there’s no better thing
than radio trust me because if the film
is better than a book the radio piece is
better than a book because radio in
essence it doesn’t show you the image
you have to think on it so it’s a very
modest medium so I started doing a
starting working on radio like 20 years
ago and I’ve done a lot of radio
reporting it’s a couple of years ago I
went to Syria and for the first time I
brought that story that sad story all
these Syrian boys in the midst of war
who do that dangerous work imagine Mad
Max it’s like an end of the world
setting and these guys are cooking crude
oil and it’s very dangerous because they
do it in in giant tanks and then that
explodes and it give fumes and they want
to get paid like ten dollars a day and
it was a society but a magnificent story
to tell because you see these guys from
15 16 years or older who are torn in the
midst of war they have no future and the
only thing that they can do is this sad
story so I brought that story on radio
but then of course at work they hear the
story the story in the central area
until next time when you go to Syria
we’re gonna give you a camera team as
well because we want that story too you
have to bring it on on TV
because it’s really a story that one
should see so the next year I go back to
Syria and I brought the story on
television as well so what you see is a
classic see the images you see frames
you see the Mad Max thing so we brought
the story on television but still I was
a bit frustrated still I had the feeling
there is so much more in this story but
you simply can’t tell it it’s with the
feeling like are there any people who go
skiing the people who go skiing like the
moment that you’re on the top of a
mountain white mountain sky blue sky you
take your phone you take a couple of
pictures anything wow this is great in a
week later you come home at work with
friends you show the picture in civic
yeah well but in reality it was better
and you know that feeling is you just
wanted to show these people like in
reality it was better but you simply
can’t take reality you can’t do that
because you wanted to show the whole
picture and that’s what 360 does the
first time when I saw 360 was a couple
of years ago in in a small town in in
Belgium and so the this guy who puts me
one of these goggles on and it was a
very sad story that I saw from a
journalist on the New York Times with a
story coming from Ebola in in Africa and
so I start watching and I immediately
start smiling and so the guy standing
next to me said sir are you okay and say
yes yes yes I’m okay sure and our
smiling is for the first time I saw a
technology that I had been waiting for
so long a kind of technology that for
the first time
better than radio button and television
can really give you the idea that
instead of watching something that gives
you that takes you there and that is in
essence what 360 does now for the people
who have never experienced 360 it’s very
hard to tell it’s like a bit it’s like a
glass of wine actually I could show you
the color I could say it it tastes like
this or that I could explain you how it
smells like what what it is made of but
in the end you should taste it so what
I’m gonna show you is a little piece of
if you would what we what you would see
if you are looking at 360 imagine of a
complete sphere around you somewhere
else but you’re in the midst of it and
wherever you look you always see
everything around you so what you see is
like if you would have these goggles on
and you would be looking around but
still think you’re just looking at it
you’re not tasting it all this
revolution wasn’t worth it
I just want to live and become a teacher
I hate this water I don’t understand it
a whole new way of telling stories and
the thing is it’s completely different
because you don’t have a frame anymore
we’re used to television we’ve grown up
with television if I would show you the
first picture a beautiful naked lady
going into shower and the second picture
would be like the door opening we know
she’s gonna die the man has a knife and
that’s the way it works
that’s television works with 360 draw no
rules because it’s new technology of
course there are some rules but they
apply a bit like radio but the rules are
not written yet so it’s a whole new way
of working because you can’t guide
people anymore in your story with
television with normal media you can say
that okay this is what you have to see
with 360 I give you a complete sphere
around 360 but I can’t say look forward
or look backward that’s what you have to
do so it’s a new way of experiencing
stories of course new technology comes
with certain problems as well one to say
it’s very hard to reach an audience if I
make a radio piece if I make television
piece we have channels to broadcast it
with 360 it’s much more difficult yet
it’s also difficult because with the old
technology you always you can hide
behind the camera with this you can’t
hide
because there is no behind the camera
everything is in the picture and so what
I’ve chosen for for my stories is to get
myself out of the picture but how do you
do that if you have a camera that films
constantly 360 around you you hide so
you hide out of the picture as I said
the outreach is difficult yet the
technology is not what it should be it’s
not it’s still evolving and it’s
evolving very far
but it’s not going away 360 is not gonna
go away and why is it not gonna go away
because I know 99% of you have a
smartphone now take your smart phones
look at it really take it take your
smart phones okay most of you people
okay we’re gonna try at least one
smartphone here do you have a camera in
the front
yes do you have one on the other side
yes actually this is a 360 camera this
is a camera de if I would turn it on on
both sides it’s gonna film you and it’s
gonna film me so think of this if you
would have a Smart Folder process that
is fast enough with a connection that is
fast enough this is gonna be a way of
communicating if I would put this on a
table and I’m in the South of France and
my mom is here in Belgium and we connect
via this she can have the whole view
around her and say like oh right the
kids are here the dog is here instead of
this old-fashioned single view where
you’re always stuck within a frame
forget the frame the frame is dead and
that’s why 360 is in my opinion is gonna
be the next big thing and the good thing
about is instead of bringing stories
back to here it can take you there and
that is a fundamental change of looking
and things thank you [Applause]