The global investment into the metaverse doubled to $120 billion in 2022. Central to this is the rise of virtual influencers who are fast dominating the face of digital.

The web3 culture was theoretically building a world for everyone, yet out of the 200+ virtual influencers on Instagram, not a single one represented the disability community.

These "ideal" virtual humans removed any perceived "flaws", and reinforced unrealistic beauty standards, leading to the reduced visibility of disabilities in the digital realm.

As a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of people with Down Syndrome, Down Syndrome International saw that increasingly more of their beneficiary's time was spent in the digital realm, yet there was very little visibility of people with disabilities or Down Syndrome there.

DSI saw an opportunity to drive awareness and relevance with young people globally, and change the digital landscape to make it inclusive for the next generation.

IDEA: Down Syndrome International subverted the popular trend of virtual influencers, and made history with a virtual influencer who was designed intentionally with a disability.

Introducing Kami - the world's first virtual influencer with Down Syndrome. Kami is a virtual human who is designed with the look, characteristics and behaviours of real young women with Down Syndrome. Kami's mission is to make the virtual world more inclusive, and represent the Down Syndrome community authentically in the virtual spaces they've never previously been visible.

Kami reinforced the message that people with Down Syndrome have every right to exist in the real world and the virtual, and that everyone should be able to be represented as themselves.

DESIGN: It was important that Kami was authentic to the group of people she represents, so every part of her design and story was co-created by a group of 100 young women with Down Syndrome from 16 different countries. Machine learning combined their faces to create Kami's, Kami’s body was made accurate to a real woman's proportions, her voice and captions are written from real women's quotes. As a virtual influencer, Kami was able to be a voice for not just one woman, but many women.

Since the majority of women in Kami’s collective feel unsafe using social platforms on their own as they are often targeted with cyber bullying, abuse and scams, Kami is a tool for them to interact safely in the online space as her account is monitored and any hurtful comments are removed.

PR STRATEGY: Insight: As virtual influencers continue to grow in popular culture, pixel-perfect faces and bodies have become the norm. Sadly, much of what society considers to be flaws are removed. These "ideal" virtual humans reinforce harmful and unrealistic beauty standards, and lead to the reduced visibility of disabilities in the digital realm.

Key message: People with Down Syndrome have the right to be included in the virtual world, and show up authentically as themselves. Having Down Syndrome is not a flaw and should never be erased from this real world or the virtual.

Kami became a spokesperson for DSI and the collective of young women with Down Syndrome online. Kami is a vehicle for provocative and compelling storytelling on behalf of Down Syndrome International, and a completely unique way of sharing the perspectives of a collective of real young women in the Down Syndrome community through a single virtual human.

Beyond Instagram, Kami was able to spread her message through popular virtual spaces like virtual fashion shows, podcasts and the metaverse.

EXECUTION: The mere existence of Kami changed the conversation almost instantly. After Kami's launch, she began a virtual world tour, touching down in a diverse spread of digital places where the Down Syndrome community had never been represented.

Kami was the guest of honour and first model with a disability appearing at Brazil Immersive Fashion Week 2022. She featured on the Defeating Disability podcast, became an NFT, collaborated with world renowned virtual fashion house Studio Acci to create the first virtual fashion line designed by young people with Down Syndrome, created the first "pocket-metaverse" dedicated to Down Syndrome awareness together with Vogue photographer Gabriel DiSante, exhibited at the Palais Augmenté digital art festival at Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris, and is currently exhibiting at Habeas Corpus Immersive experience in Arles. On Instagram, she spotlighted talented individuals with Down Syndrome, like artist Charlie French and 3D designer Sam Goodyear.

As Kami spread her message of inclusion, her influence grew across multiple social and digital platforms, becoming the voice of the Down Syndrome community in the virtual world.

Tech giant Meta is the leader in virtual humans and metaverse creation, investing more than 13 billion USD in 2022. As they roll out new versions of their own metaverses such as Horizon Worlds, new rules are being created around virtual humans.

Kami is now the case study for Meta’s ‘Ethics of Virtual Humans’ Guidebook, detailing her co-creation model as best practice. This ensures that all future virtual humans will be held to the benchmark Kami has set, creating a more accurate and authentic representation of people with disabilities in the virtual world.

RESULTS: - 1 of 35 verified virtual influencers on Instagram, first virtual influencer with a disability to be verified

- 15M US in earned media, featured in Newsweek, The Daily Mail, Dazed Beauty, Elle, Models of Diversity, The Unseen Beauty, Editor's Pick on AdAge.

- Inducted as an official virtual human on VirtualHumans.org

- Pioneered a new model for running virtual influencers where by the virtual human is created and run by the community they represent

- Used as a best practice case study for Meta's ‘Ethics of Virtual Influencers’ Guidebook ensuring that all future virtual humans will be held to the benchmark Kami has set

- Shared in 16 different languages organically on Instagram

- Created a long-term working partnership with DSA Singapore for paid work for Down Syndrome models

- 20k USD work contract with Down Syndrome model Ellie Goldstien

- Content generated by Kami organically by globally recognised influencers like @shudu.gram (239k), @grace_strobel (116k), and @elliejg16_zebedeemodel (85.4k).

Kami is the catalyst the world needed to start acting on a truly inclusive metaverse. She is an agent of change, a revolutionary, and she has catapulted DSI into the spotlight as the leading charity working towards inclusion in the digital space.