Social reality game designer, Jane McGonigal, has been proving to the world for awhile now that video games don’t have to be a waste of time and on March 3rd, with the debut of her latest work, EVOKE, she’s going to do it again.
EVOKE is like SIMS on steriods. You think it’s difficult raising a virtual family in a virtual city? Try virtually saving the world. Through this crash course on social change, you will learn what it takes to move mountains: collaboration, creativity, insight, entrepreneurship, networking, sustainability - and most importantly – stamina. In ten weeks, EVOKE players will receive ten missions based in Third World Africa -that address some of the world’s toughest problems: poverty, hunger, global warming, water security, conflict, disaster relief, health care, education, and human rights.
To succeed, players will have to know much more than just how to maneuver the joystick. McGonigal explains her project as a way “to connect young people in Africa to their counterparts in the developed world in order to empower them to start tackling the world’s difficult issues.” With that in mind, anyone can – and everyone should – play. Not only can you acquire global awareness and critical thinking skills, players will also have the opportunity to apply these assets in the real world.
Those who successfully complete all ten missions in ten weeks will receive certification by the World Bank Institute as a Social Innovator of the Class of 2010. Top players can earn online mentorships with experienced social innovators and business leaders from around the world, as well as scholarships to share their vision for the future at the EVOKE Summit in Washington DC.
Free to play and open to anyone, on March 3rd, EVOKE is sending out an urgent call:
“The Network needs a new hero” and that hero could be you.
Contributor Profile: Ashley
Ashley is a friend of anyone who is fighting the good fight for social change. She currently resides in Bilbao, Spain where she is teaching English and researching the history of the Basque conflict. Personal blog
Twitter: @socialearth
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