A WELSH language virtual reality experience is set to help Gwynedd residents understand dementia.

A virtual reality (VR) experience which allows users to understand how it feels to be living with the devastatsing mental condition launched last week at Galeri Caernarfon.

Funded by Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig and the Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 Grant, the project was led by Gwynedd Council and created with bespoke creative agency Galactig.

The VR experience aims to mirror how dementia patients feel on a day-to-day basis.

Made up of a headset and controllers, which look like a person’s hands, the VR experience allows users to turn 360 degrees and see a scene set by the virtual reality programme.

Scenarios available on the system include simple tasks around the home, such as making a cup of tea in the kitchen; a voice through the headset speaks to you in the same way a person with dementia may think e.g. telling you to put an electric kettle on the hob, in order to demonstrate the confusion dementia patients feel.

Derick Murdoch, creative director at creative agency Galactig, said: “This is a ground breaking use of VR technology to teach soft skills in Welsh and English.

“We have created an experience which allows you to interact with everyday objects using virtual hands which aid users in fully immersing themselves in the narrative.”

The experience aims to be as realistic as possible, so users can have an increased level of awareness and understanding about those who are living with the disease.

Project leader Meilys Heulfryn Smith explains why it’s particularly important for this programme to be in the Welsh language: “When a person develops dementia, they may often lose the ability to communicate in their second language.

“This technology paints a poignant picture of this experience, immersing the user in a situation where they recognise the need for actions to manage the task, and the words associated with those actions, but are simply not able to retrieve them.

“This very real frustration is felt by thousands of people in Wales each day, and we hope that the VR experience will increase awareness and understanding of the challenges this disease brings.

“Dementia is a difficult and sensitive subject for many families across Wales, and this project gives family members the chance to handle this as an issue in Welsh, as being able to use your first language during a difficult time is often comforting.”

Minister for the Welsh language and lifelong learning Eluned Morgan said: “This project is imperative for those in the local community of Gwynedd to understand, in their first language, what their loved ones and members of their community who have dementia are experiencing.

“It’s important that such a sensitive issue can be explored in their first language and this important project helps this cause hugely.”