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The Merdekaverse is the world’s first national day metaverse festival, hosted on Ministry XR’s Xanadu metaverse platform.
Ministry XR is a company advancing how humanity learns, works, and plays through spatial computing.
Part agency and part lab, the team behind Ministry XR is also responsible for pushing the boundaries of what the metaverse can provide communities. In its early stages, Xanadu benefited from a Tezos Ecosystem Growth Grant (EGG) that helped the team fund development and create a virtual space that today can host a landmark event at scale.
Behind Xanadu is the idea that everyone should experience a ‘new freedom’ – the freedom to express themselves online through live events, festivals, and interactions in a user-friendly way.
Through these types of interactions, the team behind the project hopes to build a thriving community. To Joseph Anthony, Chief Experience Officer of Ministry XR, the Merdekaverse festival is a tangible expression of cultural identity and community brought to life.
“Merdeka” is a word in Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia meaning “independent” or “free”.
According to Joseph, the concept of the metaverse is still unknown to most Malaysians, and the team from Ministry XR wanted to create something that had mass appeal.
“To do just that, we created Merdekaverse - a metaverse festival with huge Malaysian names, games, and art that draws upon nostalgia, pride, and typical Malaysian-ness,” said Joseph.
“It makes me realize that we can actually be a part of a bigger picture, finally”, he says.
At its heart, the Merdekaverse festival is a fully immersive event bursting with national pride. Over three weeks (from 25 August to 16 September), participants can join in a wealth of unique experiences in Xanadu.
On the eve of 31 August, at 12am sharp, Xanadu City will undergo a magical transformation into “Merdeka City”.
Partygoers can expect a huge parade starting at noon on Independence Day. They’ll get to walk with Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, traveling in his 1951 Nash Rambler.
After the huge live event, everyone will head down to Xanadu’s superb seaside venue, Xanadu Beach. There, they’ll be treated to a landmark concert by Malaysia’s own music royalty, a ‘virtual’ Dato Sudirman.
Interestingly, the Sudirman portion of the festival is also quite exclusive – only 200,000 visitors will be ‘admitted’ at any one time.
Throughout the three-week festival, visitors can log in anytime and participate in games where they can win Tezos coins. Visitors can take their coins to the NFT gallery in-world and become a patron of the arts by purchasing original NFT artworks and collectibles.
To wrap things up, Xanadu Beach will host a mega party with Xanadu’s very own resident DJ creation - DJ Raohu.
Joseph says, “she’s a tiger mom by day, and she plays house at night. Abide by her rules or suffer a night of boredom”.
“Oh, we also created an original song with her!”
Joseph says that one of the key differences in the experience of celebrating in a metaverse environment like Xanadu is the sheer range of activities on offer.
There’s engagement right from the start in the city with a parade to get you hooked. Then Tunku Abdul Rahman takes you to the square where a celebration happens. Then straight to a concert at the beach. All the while, you’re right there as it happens, live. You could never do this in real life.
The rise of the metaverse provides a wealth of opportunities for the region and Malaysia in particular. From emerging digital artists to developers looking to create authentic and immersive experiences for new audiences, Malaysia’s journey into virtual worlds is just getting started.
“The metaverse isn’t just the future - it’s now”, says Joseph. “Malaysia has a diverse collection of content that will be able to have new life in the metaverse. Artists, entertainers, and content creators will be able to create their own economy in ways not possible now.”
As for Xanadu, Joseph says he hopes the community uses the platform to help creativity and entertainment thrive.
“Our metaverse will be a special place that is constantly growing and making content richer for the world.”
To enter the Merdekaverse, click here: merdekaverse.com
