As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle prepare to tie the knot this weekend demand for traditional wedding souvenirs is sky high.

Ahead of this highly anticipated event, Zappar has launched its own Royal Wedding offering with a tech twist; an Augmented Reality (AR) t-shirt by British designer Philip Normal

“Philip started his creative business in Camden market ten years ago and it quickly evolved into something quite special. The work is often reactionary and sometimes with an LGBT angle.”

You can try it out by downloading the Zappar App for free from the GooglePlay or App Store. T-shirts went on sale for £22.95 from Monday 14th May. The t-shirt has a small zapcode embedded in the design, which once scanned with the Zappar app, enables wearers to choose to either ‘Marry Harry’ or ‘Marry Meghan’. Once in the experience, users can pose for a selfie using the front-facing camera on their smartphone or tablet, placing them within the artwork next to their chosen royal spouse.

“Embedded in the t-shirt is a Zapcode which will bring it to life. You’ll be able to choose whether you want to ‘Marry Harry’ or ‘Marry Meghan’. You can then pose for a selfie next to your chosen royal spouse to share on social media. There’s even the option to be able to donate to the The Albert Kennedy Trust – a LGBT youth homeless charity.”

With Augmented Reality, you can pose for a selfie next to your chosen royal spouse to share on social media
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As part of the AR experience, wearers will also be able to place their selfie onto a piece of royal memorabilia
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#royalwedding will be used across Twitter and Instagram by our augmented reality married couples to share their moment from the app.  As part of the AR experience, wearers will also be able to place their selfie onto a piece of royal memorabilia.

There will also be the chance to donate to the designer’s charity of choice; The Albert Kennedy Trust – a LGBT youth homeless charity. The charity was chosen as a legacy link to reflect the charitable community work Princess Diana was so well known for.

“We think that these limited-edition t-shirts are a great example of how illustrative design and AR can work hand-in-hand to bring to life physical objects,” says Max Dawes, Partnerships & Marketing Director at Zappar

Zappar’s recent report with global media agency, Mindshare, Layered which studies consumer’s attitudes towards AR, found that 55% of consumers have a preference for objects that hold additional information when connected to a mobile device, rising to 74% amongst those who have already experienced AR. Read the full report to see how brands are adapting to the rise of this technology.

55% of consumers have a preference for objects that hold additional information when connected to a mobile device
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The Albert Kennedy Trust is the UK’s LGBT youth homelessness charity.  It provides safe homes, mentoring, training and support to young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness following coming out to their parents, caregivers or communities.  The charity was founded in 1989 and operates service centres in London, Manchester and Newcastle and works across the UK through its digital service, inter-AKT.  In 2017, AKT provided over 6,000 nights off the street, over 1,000 hours of mentoring and provided intensive levels of support for over 500 vulnerable young LGBT people.

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies such as VR/AR/MR/XR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance and support on how best to incorporate these into your brand strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Experiencing the #RoyalWedding in Augmented Reality appeared first on Tech Trends.

On the 18^th and 19^th March the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai will bring together over 1,600 delegates to debate and shape new ways in which education can transform our world.

The event in Dubai will bring together over 1600 delegates to discuss transformative education initiatives
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Each year the Global Education & Skills Forum brings together world leaders from the public, private and social sectors seeking solutions to achieving education, equity and employment for all.

The high-profile forum traditionally attracts many notable speakers and this year is no different. In addition to those who have already been announced and will attend the event in person, in the past we have seen people such as Pope Francis, Bill Clinton and Prince William expressing their support for related initiatives such as the Global Teacher Prize.

The Global teacher prize is a US $1 million award presented annually to an exceptional teacher
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The Global teacher prize is a US $1 million award presented annually to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their profession. The latest video below features Prince Harry congratulating the nominees for this year’s award. The prize is founded on the principle that a quality education for every child requires a quality teacher for every child, and Prince Harry echoes that sentiment in his statement, where he talks about how teachers spark curiosity within children and nurture the dreams that can change the world for the better.

The event is an initiative of the Varkey Foundation to provide an essential platform for collaboration and problem-solving in the field of education. Through its programmes and initiatives the Varkey Foundation supports global teaching capacity and seeds excellence and innovation in the next generation of educators. These are grounded on the belief that education is the key to solving many of our most pressing global issues, and that bringing together leaders from the public, private and social sectors is the catalyst to finding those solutions.

Great teachers spark curiosity and nurture dreams that can change the world
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Technology is, of course a key part of this puzzle, as it can be a powerful democratizing force in plugging vital skills gaps or bringing education to those who might not have had access to it before by providing better training for teachers. At the GESF 2017 we will be exploring some of the latest emerging trends in EdTech, watch this space!

For the latest news from the forum or if you are going to be in Dubai for the event, do reach out on Twitter @alicebonasio

The post Exploring EdTech Trends at the Global Education and Skills Forum 2017 appeared first on Tech Trends.