European Youth Event 2016

As part of our work with Games for Change Europe, Simon Bachelier, Carmen Johann and I were invited by the European Parliament to develop a series of games related activities for the European Youth Event 2016 (EYE) that took place on May 20 and 21 at the Parliament in Strasbourg.

Our activities included the YOUROPE Game Challenge, a games competition to challenge young game developers in using the power of their medium fro engaging players in the pressing social and ecological challenges of our time. The competition launched two months prior to the EYE and concluded in a public voting for the nominated games, a showcase at the parliament and an audience award ceremony. Winner of the YOUROPE Game Challenge 2016 is Anthrocratos, a local multiplayer game developed by students from Glasgow Caledonian University revolving around efforts to attain the most happiness in the country’s citizens.

For the Play & Debate Sessions we selected five games to match with the five themes promoted by the EYE. Each session started with a 30 mins playtime for the participants as preparation for a 90 mins topical debate with members of the parliament, campaigners and lobbyists. Using gameplay to simulate and analyse structural interrelations of our socio-economic system on the one hand, and on the other hand to initiate a political discourse between different stakeholders was quiet an experiment, so we are very pleased about the vibrant and controversial discussions of the sessions.

Thematic Track: War and Peace – Perspectives for a Peaceful Planet

Game: Papers, Please
May 20; 14:30-16:00; European Parliament

Florent Maurin, Founder PixelHunt (host)
Stéphanie Mader, Game Designer and Researcher, CNAM/CEDRIC
Sylvie Guillaume, Vice-President, European Parliament
Cheija Abdahahe, Human rights defender, Spanish Youth Council (CJE)

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Thematic Track: Exclusion or Access – Crackdown on Youth Unemployment
May 20; 16:30-18:00; European Parliament

Game: SPENT

 

Florent Maurin, Founder PixelHunt (host)
Carmen Johann, Game Designer and Researcher, Cologne Game Lab
Pavel Trantina, President of the section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, European Economic and Social Committee
Alvin Carpio, Global Shaper, World Economic Forum

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Thematic Track: Collapse or Success – New Ways for a Sustainable Europe
May 21; 10:00-11:30; European Parliament

Game: Climate Challenge

Björn Bartholdy, Co-Director Cologne Game Lab (host)
Simon Bachelier, Games for Change Europe
Peter Jahr, Member of the European Parliament
Andreas Sieber, Manager, Climate Tracker Europe, Climate Tracker

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Thematic Track: Apathy or Participation – Agenda for a Vibrant Democracy
May 21; 12:00-13:30

Game: Democracy 3

Katharina Tillmanns, Games for Change Europe (host)
Milan Pingel, Narrative and interaction game designer, Vibrant Core
Francis Gutman, Member of Team Europe-France (he was former Head of Unit for Events and Exhibitions at the European Parliament)
Sofian Meguellati, CEO of “Blaaast”, a French digital agency that supports start-ups, NGOs and large companies

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Thematic Track: Stagnation or Innovation – Tomorrow’s World of Work
May 21; 15:30-17:00

Game: Data Dealer

Björn Bartholdy, Co-Director Cologne Game Lab (host)
Carmen Schneidereit, Artist and game designer, Cologne Game Lab
Amelia Andersdotter, Chairperson, Dataskydd.net
Leo Cervera, Head of Unit, European Data Protection Supervisor