Kelowna hosts eye contact experiment

KELOWNA–Gazing into someone’s eyes can be a pretty intimate experience.

On Thursday, thousands of strangers in cities all over the world looked a stranger in the eye for a full minute.

For the first time in Kelowna, the World’s Biggest Eye Contact Experiment was held at The Sails Downtown Waterfront.

The intent is to rebuild people’s shared sense of humanity.

“It really spoke to my heart, because people have forgotten to look at each other in the eye,” says one of the organizers, Tonette de Vera, “we’re always looking down on our cell phones or on our computers.”

Myriam Webb also helped organize the event, and she admits that looking into someone’s eyes in this way can get a little emotional.  

“It’s a little emotional, it’s a little vulnerable, but it’s amazing.  The connection.  It’s like we understand each other and we don’t even know each other’s names.”

The event is coordinated by The Liberators International.  

Each city records their event and sends the footage to the group in Perth, Australia where it is edited into a global compilation video.