GREAT Project Blog

The Rooftop Revolution case study, part of the EU Horizon-funded GREAT project, explored how serious games can bridge the gap between citizens and policymakers in the fight against climate change.

As the world faces the pressing challenge of climate change, the need for a sustainable workforce has never been greater. Yet, motivating young people to pursue careers in the green economy remains a complex task. The Vienna Green Jobs Case Study, part of the EU Horizon-funded GREAT project, offers a pioneering approach to bridging this gap by integrating game-based learning into policy discussions. Conducted between October 2023 and October 2024, this study engaged 191 students from nine Austrian schools to explore their perceptions of green careers and assess the effectiveness of digital tools in policymaking engagement.

GREAT project partners published a new scientific article last February 2025 titled Gaming as a Medium for the Expression of Citizens' Views on Environmental Dilemmas.

The GREAT project team met for the 3rd in-person consortium meeting at the DIPF Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education in Frankfurt Am Main, Germany on 27-28 February 2025.

The games industry is more than entertainment – it’s a global force for change. With more than 3 billion players worldwide and an annual market exceeding $200 billion, our industry has the power to inspire, educate, and mobilise millions.

As we near the end of 2024, The GREAT (Games Realising Effective & Affective Transformation) Project proudly reflects on a year of impactful collaborations, ground-breaking research, and global outreach. From fostering partnerships with international organizations to advancing climate education through game-based methodologies, this year has been pivotal in driving forward our mission to harness the power of games for positive transformation.

The MSCA Green Charter created by the European Commission promotes the sustainable implementation of research activities in European projects. This is aligned with the goals of the European Green Deal, which aims to make Europe’s economy sustainable.

Barbara Kieslinger and Katharina Koller from the Centre for Social Innovation, Austria, have published a paper in the European Citizen Science Association conference proceedings 2024.

ECGBL was established 18 years ago. It has been held in Austria, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Norway amongst other. It is generally attended by participants from more than 40 countries and attracts an interesting combination of academic scholars, practitioners, game designers and individuals who are engaged in various aspects of games-based learning and serious games. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning publishes a special edition of the best papers presented at this conference.

In the last year, GREAT had several fruitful collaborative online meetings with EU sister projects, known as the Games for Culture Cluster (https://games-for-culture.eu)

Exciting day at EdTech 2024 in Denmark as Simon shares and discusses new and broader approach to games in learning especially with a dilemma-approach. He uses the case studies Green Jobs and Rooftops that have been developed in the GREAT project.

Partners of the GREAT project took to the stage at this year’s Web Summit to present its bold vision of how video games can become a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.

Prof. Byron Bunt, a collaborator in the GREAT project, has been awarded 3 research and innovation excellence awards, namely top inventor, young researcher and best creative outputs.

We teamed up with the UNDP and Hi-Rez studio. Our mission, to see how gaming platforms could help us understand gamers' priorities for their country's Paris Climate Agreement commitments. “Press Start” for preliminary findings.

The GREAT project presents ‘Rooftop Revolution’ at the Changing Cities Conference in Rhodes Island Greece, a game from the GREAT project that brings citizens and policymakers together to explore sustainable uses for Nicosia's rooftops.

GREAT project manager, Dr. Jane Yau, was at the Science Festival Frankfurt on 28.9.2024, showcasing the new Play2Act: Gaming for Climate and Nature Survey, made in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program.

Discover how game-based interventions, through role-playing, are helping Austrian students engage with climate policy and promote green jobs. Learn about the impact of discussion quality on climate change beliefs and how this method is paving the way for future educational applications.

We led a delegation at the UNDP’s Climate Promise event to explore how games can promote climate action and keep global warming below 1.5°C. Learn more about the UNDP Climate Promise and our initiative here.

PlanetPlay and UNDP have launched Play2Act, an in-game poll that lets players share views on gaming's role in tackling climate change. Rolling out globally in late 2024, it’s backed by top studios and aims to engage gamers in driving environmental action.

From finalist in the Falling Walls Summit Science Engagement 2024, to making an interview with Forbes, to the sharing of business models & policy insight report, and showcasing scientific presentations and publication, the GREAT project presents these in this issue of the newsletter!

This policy brief introduces initial insights from two innovative approaches aimed at leveraging games to promote social engagement and facilitate dialogue between citizens and policymakers.

New Zotero community features bibliographic references useful in GREAT Project research activities.

Explore the transformative potential of games in society impacting on climate education and action through Dr. Jane Yau’s article in the Global Young Academy’s Connection Magazine.

Want to know how to use games to reach citizens to get their preferences for business, policy-making or other purposes?

Find out what happens when two entrepreneurs / companies with the same passion on climate action get together. Read this exciting Forbes interview!

Jane Yau presented GREAT project findings at IEEE Conference, highlighting game co-design for climate action, data sprints, and AI in marketing.

Our GREAT project is a finalist in the Falling Walls Summit Science Engagement 2024, showcasing games' impact on climate policy.

Exciting panel discussion on "Gaming for Culture and Society" at Creative Business Cup 2024 Global Finals.

During Earth Week 2024, CEOs Jude Ower and Rhea Loucas discussed how the games industry can support climate action by leveraging games to mobilize players for climate advocacy.

DIPF's Jane Yau presented, receiving positive feedback on its alignment with the UN Climate Promise Plan.

Created by Dr Byron Bunt and Dr Lance Bunt, the game presents different challenges relating to making society better.

Professors Tlili and Huang's study in Entertainment Computing reveals that players’ environmental perceptions affect their in-game behaviors, influencing eco-friendly game design.

Led by DIPF's Jane Yau, the session included a number of initiatives of empowering women and underrepresented groups to take on science activities and careers to advance the SDGs

Project partners Katharina Koller and Barbara Kieslinger from ZSI raised interest with their poster titled 'Game On: Exploring Game-Based Tools for Citizen Engagement in Climate Research Policy'.

20+ GREAT presentations & communication events in 2023 including upcoming ones in 2024.

GREAT Project partners held 2 productive days of interactive workshops, capacity-building activities and interesting conversations.

GREAT Project presented to UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning in Hamburg.

Pioneer projects in Nicosia with the European Creative Rooftop Network highlight underused rooftop potential for biodiversity and renewable energy.

The GREAT Project was invited to take part in events to advance climate actions as part of the 5th World Young Scientist Summit, being held being held in Wenzhou China.

Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen introduced SGI's digital learning game format designed to cater to the classroom’s unique strength and weaknesses.

ZSI’s Katharina Koller shared insights on the GREAT Project's participatory approach to game-based research for promoting climate action.

The GREAT project is excited to be invited to collaborate with other projects in the EU Games for Culture cluster.

At the Berlin Institute of Health, GREAT discussed how the use of games can be used to increase the reach of diverse citizens to improve research quality.

The GREAT Project coordinates its efforts with two Horizon Europe sister projects.

University of Bolton's Prof. Paul Hollins gave a talk on "The Application of Games to Engage Citizens in Climate Change Policy Development".

GREAT's dilemma based approach helps highlight the complexities of policy-making to citizens.

Dr. Jane Yau presented in the a healthcare session, on the use of computer games to improve and prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen spoke with various stakeholders regarding DiBL and climate games with the aim of attracting interest and increasing awareness of the GREAT Project.

Explore the transformative potential of innovative technologies in education, gender equality, and climate action through Dr. Jane Yau's article in the Global Young Academy's Connections Magazine, shedding light on how mobile technologies, open science, and mobile games can drive positive change and improve well-being worldwide.

Jude Ower, Founder and CEO of Playmob presented at the first ever SDG and G4C (Games for Change) Summit, held at the United Nations HQ on 17th July 2023.

Discover the insights shared in the plenary talk, 'Achieving 21st Century Education and Skills for Sustainable Development Goals', at the 'Young Minds in Technology Advancements' event.

The GREAT Project invited to present their work at a key side event of the World Young Scientist Summit 2023 - International Young Scientists Forum on Ecology and Resource Sustainable Development of Silk Road held in Urumqi, China on 8-10 July 2023.

Dr. Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen's talk 'Collaborative Dilemma Based Learning Games' at the Irish Conference on Game-Based Learning discusses harnessing the power of students and teachers in the classroom for a richer digital learning experience.

Dissemination activities were underway at the event held in conjunction with the Global Young Academy Annual General Meeting, Kigali, Rwanda, 5-9 June, 2023.

In May 2023, three representatives of the GREAT project were invited to a UN Steering Committee event targeting Education for Sustainable Development, organised by UNECE.

Professor Paul Hollins from the GREAT project gave a keynote presentation at the "Five Minutes to Twelve" Symposium on Climate Change, garnering interest and anticipation from climate change experts and students alike.

The GREAT project made its mark at the 23rd Sustainable Innovation conference, presenting 'A Pathway to Sustainable Impact on Climate Change Policy' through games and engaging in panel discussions, aiming to raise awareness and collaborate with industry partners for advancing climate action and sustainable development goals.

A fruitful and successful kick-off meeting for the GREAT project (Games Realising Effective and Affective Transformation, co-funded by EU and UKRI) with all consortium partners was held on 1-2 March.

A new European Union-funded project involving scientific and private-sector partner organizations is investigating how computer games can be used to improve climate protection.