This project is a type of Gamification applied to the promotion of civic and democratic values among children. Gamification consists in implementing gaming mechanics and strategies in real contexts. Its added value goes far beyond the entertainment factor and can impact aspects such as productivity, focus, determination, and participation, making it easier to achieve goals and objectives in any context.

Despite being a process already recognised in areas such as marketing and education, the use of serious games is becoming an increasingly common practice in organizational management, using elements such as rewards, scorecards, and instant feedback, incentivising a healthy competitive environment.

Through this novel methodology, subjects are conditioned to spontaneously meet quotas and objectives by increasing satisfaction, productivity, collaboration, and participation.

From June 2019 onwards 514 “Agora falo eu!” kits were distributed, with 17 iterations of this project having been implemented throughout the country. In 2019 this totalled 119 sessions of the game having been conducted, reaching 25 different entities, and involving a total of 549 children.

Projects conducted through the game encompassed several different civic subjects such as weekly meetings, working groups on sustainable development & environmental protection, and social intervention and civic action towards neighbourhood improvement. In every instance of these projects the promotion of group dynamics, open debate and discussion of ideas was paramount, allowing for the engagement and growth of children’s argumentative capabilities.

These experimentation sessions were accompanied by an online questionnaire for the purpose of collecting feedback and improvement suggestions from the participating communities.

The implementation of these projects was possible through the voluntary participation of a number of different civil society, local and regional government, academic associations and entities.

Examples include:

• Entities within the Portuguese Institute for Youth and Sports network
• Entities within the Portuguese High Commission for Migration network
• Parent Associations
• Municipalities and Parishes
• Schools/School Clusters/Professors
• Universities/Graduate Students

Children between the ages of 8 and 13 were the core subjects for this project. However, as the project required the active participation of educators and communities alike, we observed impacts not just in
the targets of the project themselves but also the project’s promoters.

As “Agora Falo Eu!” takes place in the subject’s formative years, there is also a systemic impact that is produced from the implementation of these sorts of initiatives over the long run – a whole of society
approach.

Results were measured through a digital questionnaire which collected feedback on the game as well as suggestions for improvement and descriptions of how it was particularly integrated in each of its
iterations.

It was highlighted that the game facilitates dialog between children and promotes the children's personal and social development – stimulating autonomy and decision-making processes. The potential for activating children and communities was also exemplified by the number of experimental projects reported in the questionnaire responses – initiatives imagined during a children’s card game were coopted into their communities at large.

One of the main challenges identified in the implementation of this experiment was the relatively low level of feedback compared to the number of distributed kits (only 34 responses comparatively to 514 kits sent).

These instances of feedback allowed for the identification of several points for improvement within the structure of the game such as:

• Broadening the number of possible questions and answers
• Better highlighting the content of the cards
• Creating digital and board versions of the game
• Overall improvements and streamlining certain mechanisms and rules
• Increase inclusivity,(e.g., by including a colour code)

These issues are to be corrected in future iterations.

Field experimentation for this project was strictly only possible through assistance from several established partnerships with a number of entities. Initially this meant the distribution of 146 kits to upwards of 100 entities.

The broadened scope this project reached was only possible through the voluntary application of different political as well as civil society associations and actors, which allowed for the distribution of 514 kits.

The success of these types of initiatives is reliant on the proactive and willing engagement of a broad variety of actors who share common values on the importance of developing soft skills, promoting strong civic, democratic, and personal values in children.

Each phase of “Agora Falo Eu!” required the engagement of children in different contexts, with the latter phase promoting of children through the previously mentioned partner entities and associations.

This demonstrates that a gamified approach to civic learning has a modular quality in so far as the kits can easily be picked up by any interested 3rd parties and adapted into any context – making this project
demonstrably replicable.

Going forwards, we believe that issues of citizenship are central for the reinforcement of democratic values in society. As such, we should take care to involve schools and other entities linked to infancy and youth.

This project demonstrates the usefulness of gamified approaches to engaging children in core teachings regarding civic engagement and participation, but it also provides them some level of practice in other fundamental areas such as cooperation and argumentation.

Gamification allows for modular units (kits) which can be used on a partner association/entity/institution’s own time to provide children with meaningful interaction with subjects that will shape their impact on their communities and society at large. This methodology allows for a customisable approach to children’s need, adapting games to the broader context of their local socioeconomic reality and actively engaging adults in the development of children’s capabilities.