First impressions about the mGames meeting in Italy!
From 28th September until 2nd October we are representing the organization "AKO" (Arbeitskreis Ostviertel e.v.) in the European meeting about Mobile Games in Youth Work. The project is already running as it started on 1st January 2015. It involves six different countries working together on the educational games' topic. This is the penultimate meeting before the final conclusion that will be in Krakow, Poland in November 2015.
The aim of this week is to develop methodologies and tools for mobile devices (smart phones and tablets) suitable for youth work and non-formal education.
Our trip started at 4:50 AM from Münster train station to Düsseldorf, where we took a flight to Milan. Finally, we arrived in Cagliari, Italy. From the first moment, we had the feeling that we were back in summertime again. The weather in this region of Italy is still very warm and we immediately had the impression of being in a southern country - the atmosphere and the buildings looks very Mediterranean - and the colours, sounds and smells are very intense.
On Monday all participants arrived at different times, but in the evening we met up for a delicious dinner where we had the chance to get to know each other. It was a very interesting multicultural exchange and the best start for the following working days.
On Tuesday the real work started. First we got introduced to the weekly schedule, the aims of the project and the objectives of the meeting. In the second part of the morning session, Elica Licheva, one of the team leaders from Bulgaria, proposed us to think about the next question: “Why do we need mobile games in youth work?” and said: ”Mobiles are really present in life and it is useful to mix mobile uses with youth work as an innovative way to teach”. That was a very interesting input for the next practical part.
Afterwards, Rosen Petkov, the leader of SCAS (Student Computer Art Society) explained to the participants the process of developing three mobile games, which are an essential part of the project and have been developed by the Bulgarian team. The games are focused on three different topics: green skills, project management and cultural exchange. Here you can find more info about the project and the games: mgames-youth.org.
In the afternoon we worked in groups developing three hypothetical scenarios and designing three workshop projects using the games as main tools.
The journey ended with an international dinner where we talked about the countries we are representing. Fun, jokes and smiles were included on the menu ;). The expectations of the project have been already established on the first day and we are sure that we are going to learn many things during the following days.
