Game On! International Conference

After a four-year run, the Game On! project, funded by the Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) programme, is reaching its end. During this sprint, over 200 Committed Young Climate Ambassadors from 8 countries have worked with us in wilderness camps, street actions, festivals and workshops; climate comedy shows have provoked plenty of laughs but also left substantial food for thought; through our Terra Futura board game, discussions on the systemic consumption of resources around the globe have been vibrant and eye-opening.

And so much more.

Gamification has been at the project’s operational core, and our mission, clear: to raise awareness of the crucial urgency of tackling climate change. We reject the notion that the game is over. The game is still on, and we can overcome its challenges. This event will serve to show us glimpses as to how.

The Game On! Final Conference “Climate Change: Game Over or Game On?” will be a 2-day hybrid event held in Brussels, Belgium, to showcase the activities, products and results of the Game On! project, implemented by 10 organisations from 8 countries, and the work of its Young Climate Ambassadors.

This international event will gather youth activists, representatives from youth organisations and youth-led projects, decision makers and media representatives, aiming to discuss the role and potential of gamification as an awareness-raising and educational approach, as well as the importance of the youth to help tackle the current triple planetary crisis.

To facilitate this, Game On! partners will share their experience in developing products and activities, such as the ClimateGame (a mobile app to help users move to more sustainable lifestyles), the ClimateQuest (an international geocaching challenge that guides outdoor explorers to caches hidden in locations where the effects of climate change on the ecosystem can be seen), the gamified intervention of museum exhibitions and zoos (with new layers of information related to the effects of climate change), EduQuest Yourself! (a collection of non-formal and informal educational approaches in the form of games), or the Climate Compact (an easy-to-follow — while scientifically sound — open online course about climate change), among several others.

Moreover, policy roundtables with decision makers, representatives of youth organisations, Game On! Young Climate Ambassadors and relevant stakeholders will help shape each of the two days with discussions surrounding youth-centric policies for the future and the inclusion of marginalised communities for adaptation to climate change impacts.

Parallel sessions throughout the event will be led by Young Climate Ambassadors. Within them, they will display distinct approaches to raising awareness carried out in their own countries and beyond through presentations, workshops and interactive, gamified sessions.

Finally, presentations from representatives of youth-focused projects working on the theme of climate change will also bring an opportunity to further highlight youth initiatives and network with the international attendants.