Society is evolving and we have gone a long way from slavery and women not being able to vote. But we still have room for improvement: stop discriminating against different people, accepting people who think, dress, speak differently than we do.
Separation between people is a problem as old as the world, but it needs modern solutions. The internet is now everywhere in a “portal” open in two European cities, Vilnius and Lublin, which was built just to shorten the distance between us and them. Not only is the meaning behind this project amazing, but it also looks so cool and futuristic.
The city of Vilnius in Lithuania and the city of Lublin in Poland are now linked by a portal in which they can see each other.
The portal has a circular shape that symbolizes the wheel of time, and in science fiction, it represents space and time that link back to the circle as a portal. This virtual bridge between the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, and one of the oldest Polish cities, Lublin, is the first of its kind. In Vilnius, the portal can be found next to Vilnius railway station. Meanwhile, in Lublin, he resides on Plac Litewski.
These 2 cities have a historical connection, as the Lublin Union was signed on 1 July 1569 between Poland and Lithuania in that same city. This union created a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. Bored Panda contacted the PORTAL team and asked if this was planned. Apparently, it was an unexpected coincidence. They contacted various cities abroad that would collaborate for this project and the circumstances lead to that city being Lublin. It is truly symbolic that these two cities are spreading the message behind the project, which must be unified and not separated.
This circle with a screen that looks like a portal to another dimension actually allows you to see people in the other city and wave at them
The ‘portals’ both have screens and cameras to broadcast the other city live. The view you see on the screen is similar to what astronauts see looking at the world below.
It’s called a “surveillance effect” and astronauts experience it when they see Earth in space, so little, so delicately in this big world.
Hazzaa Ali Almansoori, the first person from the United Arab Emirates in space, said “It’s amazing how space brings everyone together. No matter what country you come from, no matter what your religion or background, it unites everyone … Our goal is one: it is for humanity. ”
The portal is now silent as it would be technically difficult to have a sound 24/7, however, it is possible and for special events, it will be done.
Despite this, the creators of the project believe that people will find a way to communicate. They’ve noticed people waving, sending kisses or doing push-ups, so they’re still involved.
The team told us that “it seems that with physical measures like the PORTAL the internal psychological barriers disappear and people enthusiastically participate in the activity in front of the portal and are friendly to each other. Most of them do not need encouragement and access the portal with curiosity or maybe they just crave a human relationship during this pandemic. ”They think that starting a conversation with complete strangers only on the street would present difficulties and it seems that the portal makes people more relaxed.
The message behind the PORTAL project is to make people forget about the separation between us and them and just see our planet united
The main goal of the project is to connect people. On the official website, they say “Surrounding ourselves only with those who are close and speak the same language gives us comfort and a sense of stability. It also limits the worldview to our narrow inner circle. Slowly it becomes a perfect space for awakening insecurities to outsiders and a perfect excuse to be careless about the world that belongs to them. Every day there is less room for dialogue, empathy and compassion to feel and be united in our home – a tiny spaceship Earth rapidly decaying because of too many of them and too few of us. It’s so easy to believe we’re all a wave and forget we’re an ocean too. Let’s transcend this sense of separation and be pioneers of unity. ”
It almost seems like we welcome aliens to Earth, but sometimes we treat humans as if they’re not from this planet and don’t deserve to be here. The person behind the idea, Benedict Gylys, says many of the potentially deadly challenges humanity faces, such as polarization and climate change, have been caused by a lack of understanding of others and of the world at large. So the PORTER must unite people and it is an invitation to rise above the illusion of division that we ourselves have created.
Although it is not a portal that we see in movies or read in books, it is nevertheless the closest to teleportation and it is so cool that you can only communicate with random people on the street who are hundreds of miles away.
It caught the attention of Redditors like the post about it got 140k votes in less than a day. People joked about Stargate and that if you go through it, you will end up in Poland. It seems that people liked this idea, but others shared that something similar happened where they live, but it didn’t last long as people started abusing the portal.
The project had its challenges, “First, it was a challenge to draft a project for the PORTFOLIO, which is minimal and simple, but able to fit all the complex electronics inside and prevent vandalism and negative environmental impact.” Then the project had to be carried out and after many tests, it was chosen to use “concrete, stainless steel and tempered glass to build these 11 tons wide two meters by two meters.”
It all came true because the people at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Creative and Innovation Center “LinkMenų manufactures” were crazy enough to believe in the idea and were able to realize it.
The brain behind the project is Benedict Gylys and it took 5 years to realize the idea
The project was completed during a pandemic, when travel within the borders may have restrictions, so travel to other countries is hardly disputed. The creators of Vilnius Technique have been working on the portal for 5 years and now was the best time to introduce it publicly when everyone is so isolated and eager to taste something new a bit.
There are plans to open more of these portals in various cities in the world and connect even more people
The portal between Vilnius and Lublin was the first in the world, but it will not be the last. The creators of the project hope to connect dozens of cities around the world and two new ones are expected to open soon: one in Reykjavik, Iceland and another in London, United Kingdom.
The team revealed that Reykjavik was chosen because of the very important historical story that links it to Lithuania: Iceland was the first to recognize Lithuania’s independence in 1991 and Lithuanians appreciate it and want to continue the partnership between the countries. Also, Reykjavik contrasts perfectly with Vilnius.
London is important to them as they begin a friendship with another international initiative.
Image credits: Benedict Gylys Foundation
Now Vilnius is linked to Lublin and will last until August. Then it will move to another city. The project creators think that maybe in the future the portals will change cities every 10 minutes more or less because they are open to anyone who would like to join.
Although the cities will have a limited connection time, the project has no time limit, “the project will continue until the destruction of the planet or the end of the problems that cause the separation between people.”
What do you think of this idea? Would you like to see such a ‘portal’ in your city? Let us know your thoughts on this project in the comments.
More than 2k people shared their reactions to this “portal” on Reddit and most of them thought it was a cool idea.
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