Cycle One Trial in Colombia
GREAT, a Horizon Europe project, aims to research how games can be leveraged as a tool for social engagement in the context of the climate crisis. The project provides citizens with an environment, which they can express their preferences and attitudes through.
To this extent, the project designs a methodology along consecutive research cycles. As part of this design process, in cycle one, the project partners test methodological approaches, to test the effectiveness of each of the stages and to refine them.
The first stage of the methodology is:
- to identify and document the most relevant and pressing matters on climate crisis,
- to identify a common dilemma, and
- to gather ideas that could be applied in a serious game, and-or in a questionnaire inserted into an existing commercial game.
To test this stage, a first trial of the methodology has been carried out in Medellín, Colombia, during August 2023, to demonstrate the approach, investigate its potential, and generalise the results. A group of eight university professors and students from Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL, Research group GIDIA, at Faculty of Mining) participated in the two sessions of online activities. They analyse various dilemmas related to the impact of climate change in the region, which came up with valuable game-based proposals.
Three other GREAT partners have carried out three additional, similar activities: The Centre for Social Innovation (AT), University of Bolton (UK) and Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DE).
The results of these activities will certainly complement the design of the overall GREAT methodology. They will promote further cycles that involve policy stakeholders who are confronted with real and pressing policy challenges.