Games, Adolescence and Infancy Agenda (GAIA)

A Games for Change Latin America Project – 2022

• * 60-minute sessions with experts
• * Interdisciplinary perspectives and content in Portuguese, Spanish and English
• * Support for study groups, communities of practice and collaborative mentoring for families
• * Mobilization for projects and events for the collective creation of analog games and games in schools and other non-profit social organizations
• * Monthly newsletter with news, reviews and opinion pieces (LudiCoDesign)
• * Monitoring of educational, health, technological, market and regulatory trends

• * Preparation of contents and activities for the X Festival G4C Latin America 2022

• * Partnership with national networks such as ABRAGAMES, REBEL and SBGames and regional chapters of Games for Change in the United States, European Union, Africa and Asia

• * Publication and translation of specialized literature, such as the report “Playful by Design” by Sonia Livingstone (Brazilian version to be launched on April 19th at 7 pm)

• * Attention to specific issues in the field of diversity in all its expressions (gender, religion, ethnic identity, physical disabilities and neurocognitive diversity)

• * Online activities, facilitating access and offering tools for networking and team building in networks aimed at holding events and projects in Brazil and Latin America

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES

IN CULTURE AND DIGITAL EDUCATION

Children and adolescents have been suffering in the last three years, at least, as a result of the combined impacts of catastrophes on a global scale that radically alter the spaces, time and purpose of their connectivity and online entertainment options.

Scientists and research centers all over the world have found a loss of quality in educational training, growing risks of healthy socialization and digital entertainment and an increase in inequality of access, skills building for creative connections and consequently for the opening up of possibilities for training, professionalization and performance in all areas of life.

The list below is not exhaustive! We face unprecedented challenges in many areas. Every simple solution can be hasty and insufficient, aggravating problems we need to face right now. No solution will emerge unilaterally from an isolated perspective, whether in the field of ​​health, economics, law or regulation and standardization. “Top-down” solutions are either sterile or unsustainable!

• Social isolation in the pandemic.
• Greater insecurity and uncertainty with global instability and the increase in violence and risk indicators at all levels (local, regional, national and international).
• Technological acceleration without adequate qualification or regulation of contents and socialization models.
• Predominance of commercial interests over pedagogical purposes and the expansion of citizenship, democracy, creativity and tolerance.
• Prevalence of artificial intelligence in the formation of consumer bubbles for products, services and online content.
• Growing importance of training for individual and collective entrepreneurship in areas of high technological intensity in the service, culture and health sectors.
• Challenges to pedagogical performance at all levels and knowledge fields, using games and digital media for innovation in learning, creativity and professionalization.

Active since 2010, the Games for Change Latin America network has been acknowledged as an innovative initiative and will hold the tenth edition of the annual Festival in 2022. By participating in the “GAIA” cycle of online seminars (from April to July, 2022) and the YOUTHOPIA STUDENT CHALLENGE and “game jams” (from August to November, 2022), our network celebrates a decade of work in favor of an innovative, participatory and transformative digital culture.

More than ever we need to accelerate the integration between technology, education, health, culture and citizenship to collaboratively overcome the unprecedented challenges posed to our children and adolescents.

Let’s improve the world by playing creatively!

Gilson Schwartz

President

Games for Change Latin America

Games for Change Latin America – AGENDA 2022

“Games for Change” has been active in Latin America since 2010 with the aim of critically integrating the acceleration of digital culture, media and processes to educational, social, cultural and civic causes. Our mission is to change the world through the integration of digital culture, games and the promotion of citizenship.

In 2022, we will hold the X Festival Games for Change Latin America at the end of November. To celebrate the first decade of activities and consolidate the community of professionals, artists, educators and families engaged in this playful and transformative mission, we invite you to the cycle of seminars and projects inspired by the “Games, Adolescence and Infancy Agenda” (GAIA).

The initiative has already secured important partnerships with high-impact organizations in the games and digital culture sector, such as the “Brazilian Games Industry ssociation” (ABRAGAMES), the “Brazilian Symposium on Games and Digital Entertainment” (SBGames, associated with the Brazilian Computer Science Society), the “Brazilian Ludic Studies Network” (REBEL) and the “Workshop for Software and Hardware Aficionados” (WASH).

GAIA will spearhead a collaborative agenda and information interface with an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional character and with the purpose of influencing public debate, defining parameters for the regulation and development of creative projects, scientific research and support for families.

The GAIA cycle takes place between April and July 2022. Starting in August, we will launch the “YOUTHOPIA STUDENT CHALLENGE”, an action to support schools and other organizations focused on formal and informal education for children and young people through “game jams”, applying a methodology developed and proven by “Games for Change” over the last few years in the US.

Creation of games in collaborative processes (“game jams”) is today one of the established approaches to learning and strengthening interdisciplinary, ethical and transformative skills.

Finally, the activities of the “GAIA” cycle and the “YOUTHOPIA STUDENT CHALLENGE” culminate in the X Festival Games for Change Latin America, between November 15th and 21st, 2022, including the fourth edition of the “Pitch for Change” competition, between prototypes, projects and products/services aimed at transforming the world through playful initiatives.

Information + Formation = Transformation

Our methodology is clear: more information associated with formative activities results in transformation, that is, problem solving based on evidence, sharing of errors and successes, access to scientific research as well as broad and unrestricted mobilization of competent professionals in all areas of relevance for personal empowerment and opening of opportunities for children and adolescents in the age of the internet of things, artificial intelligence and digital clouds.

Each seminar throughout the “GAIA” cycle will be conducted by nationally and internationally recognized professionals, activists or researchers. Relevant content will be shared in advance. At each session, “Games for Change Latin America” will call for study groups, communities of practice and collaborative mentoring with mediation of professionals or specialized researchers.

Study Groups

• Support scientific projects from high school to post-doctorate research
• Encourage publication of critical reviews (articles, books, games) based on readings and debates aimed at deepening the themes proposed in each seminar
• Interdisciplinary pedagogical guidelines for teachers, at all educational levels, interested in integrating the use of games and ludic proposals in all areas of knowledge and teaching

Communities of Practice

• Support for the formation of collaborative networks between professionals in the games industry and students interested in professionalization in the various segments of this market, committed to transforming the world inspired by causes and purposes consistent with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs framework).
• Stimulation, partnership and collaboration in funding and promotion of analog or digital game projects consistent with the GAIA Agenda
• Expansion of contacts and dialogue with companies and organizations interested in the production or use of games in various sectors, to encourage the adoption of ethical standards of consumption and attention to the rights of children and adolescents

Collaborative Mentorships

• Support for family members through networks for sharing experiences, issues and informal educational practices in the local community
• Sharing tips on recreational activities that enrich coexistence between generations and facing the risks associated with abuse of screen time and other forms of electronic dependence, sedentary lifestyle and undue exposure to toxic content
• Expansion of quality, non-specialized information sources focused on socialization issues through digital media, promoting tolerance, diversity and self-fulfillment

Games, Adolescence and Infancy Agenda (GAIA 2022)

• 21 sessions (LIVE) from April 19 to July 31, 2022, moderated by Gilson Schwartz
• Access to exclusive content (texts and video recordings of sessions)
• Access to Study Groups, Communities of Practice and Collaborative Mentorships
• Annual subscription to the newsletter “LudiCoDesign” (monthly)
• Free registration in the “Pitch for Change” (competitive phase of the Festival Games for Change Latin America) for a prototype, project or product aimed at children and adolescents
• Connection to the “Purposyum, Challenges of Justice” metaverse project (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – UNODC and the “City of Knowledge” research group at USP)
• Certification for participants with 75% attendance and an individual final assessment

21 Confirmed Speakers!

  Arana Shapiro, Managing Director and Chief Learning Officer, Games for Change

GAIA 2022 kicks-off with Sonia Livingstone, London School of Economics

April 19, 4 PM, presenting “Playful by Design”

CHECK THE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE!

“Games for Change Latin America” invites you to participate in GAIA 2022 through flexible subscription plans that meet the needs of individuals, schools, municipal and state networks, federal institutes, organizations and companies on a case-by-case basis.

We are open to creative ways of weaving partnerships and promotional strategies, such as:

– discounts for collective purchases by school, collective, companies or institutions,

– exchanges for content, exposure, products and services that serve the “Games for Change Latin America” community and enrich the collective experience,

– sponsorship proposals, donation of grants or scholarship and patronage,

– SPECIAL collective subscription plans for Municipal and State Departments of Education, Culture, Health, Development and Innovation and non-governmental organizations.

Games, Adolescence and Infancy Agenda (GAIA)

A Games for Change Latin America Project – 2022

FULL SUBSCRIPTION                                                                     BRL 300.00 (cash or credit card)

BENEFITS

• “Games for Change Latin America” certificate (75% attendance + final individual assessment)
• Online access to videos available until December 31, 2022
• Participation in up to three study groups/communities of practice/mentorships
• Annual subscription to the newsletter “LudiCoDesign”