Abstract

As our society is rapidly racing towards Ai and virtual reality, the question of who we are in these digital environments becomes highly important, especially in the context of higher education. Who is the true owner of your identity? How can we increase the metacognition of students within the framework of Fashion in Web3? We will address the topics of identity in the virtual space called Metaverse raising the questions of ownership, community, Web 3.0, highlighting the importance of ethical leadership in education.

Session and activities

In this session we’ll talk about the importance of identity in the metaverse through the lens of Fashion.
We’ll look at how fashion is at the forefront of onboarding change and technology.
To explore and inform on what is the metaverse and Web 3.0, we’ll compare the ethos of the major big players in the space and show the advantages of exploring your identity online but also clarify whether your online identity is yours or owned by the platforms that host it. This will raise the question of why we need to embed Web 3.0 education in our curriculum to ensure that the power is in the hands of the people of tomorrow and not owed by the corporations of yesterday. In order to have a follow up dynamic conversation, throughout the presentation we will have provocations for the audience to reflect on such as:
Is your online identity your true or extended self?
If you are creating an avatar with the assets provided by web 2.0 companies, who benefits from the commercialisation of digital identity? Do we need the metaverse to be in the web 3.0 space? Or can it exist independently?