3Reflections and future considerations Across its three-year journey, the Village became a live laboratory for immersive convening, revealing the strengths, limitations and future potential of XR-enabled collaboration. This section distils key lessons learned in terms of format, design and immersive impact. As it winds down, the lessons from the Village offer valuable guidance for anyone building digital spaces for public–private cooperation. 3.1 Formats and features that worked The Village worked best as an enhancement to in-person convenings. Engagement was significantly stronger when immersive experiences were layered into live events – such as plenaries or leadership dialogues – rather than used as stand- alone virtual sessions. The most effective experiences were guided and intentional – using live facilitation, structured objectives and pre-event onboarding to build confidence and focus attention. Hybrid formats that combined immersive briefings with in-person or thematic sessions consistently raised the quality of engagement. Shared virtual spaces created safe environments for open, high-trust conversations. Participants responded most positively to realistic, culturally grounded environments that encouraged natural interaction. As avatar models proved limiting, the Village shifted towards environment- led design – improving performance and trust. Inclusive access (via 2D, mobile or low-bandwidth devices) was essential, and guided formats – such as immersive data walkthroughs or meditative sessions – consistently yielded deeper engagement than unguided exploration. As the initiative progressed, new needs emerged – such as broader device compatibility, diversified access modes and enhanced content formats. In response, the Forum introduced a next-generation version of the Village in early 2025, integrating augmented reality, mobile access, hyperrealistic visuals and AI-supported facilitation tools to support an expanded range of use cases. Copyright: © Global Collaboration Village: World Economic Forum. All rights reserved Reimagining Collaboration in XR: Lessons from the Global Collaboration Village 14

Reimagining Collaboration in XR Lessons from the Global Collaboration Village 2025