You(TH) Play

<< Background >>The You(TH) Play project was initiated to address critical needs within the European community, particularly in South-Eastern EU countries:- Lack of awareness and campaigning on environmental issues among young people- Limited readiness for digital and game-based learning on topics like climate change and sustainable development- Insufficient integration of game-based learning in youth work and education- Scarcity of effective environmental education solutions for youth workers- Need for engaging solutions to spark youth interest in environmental learning- Demand for best practice exchange among youth workers and educators- Lack of stakeholder involvement in environmental education- Insufficient focus on sustainable development in certain countries- Limited presence of environmental education in schools, especially in South-Eastern EuropeThese needs underscored the urgency of the You(TH) Play project, especially in light of the global significance of environmental challenges. The project addressed these challenges by employing digital gamification theories to create engaging learning tools, fostering environmental awareness among young people and promoting a better future.<< Objectives >>The main aim of the You(TH) Play project was to strengthen the ability of youth institutions and NGOs to provide high-quality, inclusive digital environmental learning through innovative gamification technology and virtual spaces. The specific objectives were:- Building the capacity of participating entities to implement blended and modern learning approaches concerning environmental issues, utilizing gamified tools and virtual space technologies.- Developing high-quality content related to environmental preservation, such as game-based learning resources using virtual spaces.- Enhancing the pedagogical competences of youth workers and educators to enable them to deliver high-quality environmental education.- Sharing best practices for integrating game-based learning and environmental education.<< Implementation >>The project consisted of several activities split between work packages. Work Package 1 included overall project management activities, such as quality monitoring, ongoing communication, financial management, etc. Work Package 2 (Virtual Game based learning tool elaboration) was split into two main parts - creating game content and digitalisation. The consortium settled on most important topics to cover, structured the game, content, and questions, and then designed the board game. Simultaneously to the design of the physical game, IT experts from the team established a website that hosted the digital version of the game, and the partnership was involved in adjustment of gameplay, translations, and transferring the game into the online sphere. Finally, Work Package 3 (Partner meetings and reach out events) included activities such as the organisation of TPMs (3 during the project's lifetime), printing of the game in national languages, and disseminative actions both physical and online. The partnership kept an active social media presence on Facebook and Instagram, and organised several dissemination events for schools and other non-profit organisations, resulting in a valuable extension of the partners' networks.<< Results >>The planned project results were as follows:-Creation of an environmental game support content, to be used for learning purposes in youth work, education and training fields -Preparation of virtual based gamified environmental learning tool to be tested within the participating countries -Sustainable and growing library of best practices in environmental learning supportsTo make these results tangible, we decided to create a question-and-answer game in the topic of environmental awareness, in two versions: online and physical. The online game is a simple question-and-answer, and can be played in a group as well as individually, and is available for anybody with a device that has access to the internet - it can be played on https://virtual-planet.eu/. The physical game is also following the question-and-answer principle, but it is supposed to be played in a group and it is in the form of a board game, where players move their pawns across the gameboard in the attempt to collect 50 points. Both games include the same categories: Tourism, Ecology and Ecosystems, Green Technologies, Low Waste and Individual/Collective Action, Plastic and Proper Waste Management, and Responsible Consumption and Production.