Why Advocacy Through Games?

A few days ago, after some silent days with no stories from yours truly, I decided to share my brain child with World Pulse members and the world, advocacy through gaming. It's not a new concept, as a matter of fact, it has been in existence albeit in different forms but most notably has been storytelling through comic books which have been the most commonly chosen medium to relay information to young people. The stories have always been quite captivating and the visually appealing. The most famous one being Shujaaz which has been instrumental in addressing social issues such as peer pressure, drug use, relationships, domestic violence etc  faced by young people, teenagers and youths alike. I personally used to read their comics back when I was in highschool and equally learnt so many useful lessons from those stories. 

So today, in my quest to mentor and advocate for children's rights, youth rights, SRH, life skills in financial literacy, legal knowledge among others, I came to a realization that young people give more attention to highly visual pictorials, videos and graphics resulting in higher capacity for information retention. This is how advocacy through games was born.

This initiative seeks to create awareness and provide young people with relatable experiences through the use of maze games, puzzles and trivias.

Imagine journeying through a maze with obstacles along the way that are a reflection of our day to day life. The games address different topics and would provide people with an opportunity to break the ice with regards to sensitive information such as sex, relationships, gender based violence, internet safety et al. 

The games can be used in our workshops or bought by a parent, a caregiver, a teacher, an organization, a company performing CSR programmes or any other stakeholder with a view to guiding young people to be outstanding members of the society. 

What better way to mould young ones using the most enjoyable approaches to them other than games? They're not geographically limited as a youth in Kenya and the other in Guatemala for example, can both relate to the social issues and finally be confident to speak up about them without shame. Through the game, they can get a safe space to open up and discuss issues affecting them.

I'm reaching out to all of you in a bid to provide you with an opportunity to reach out to more young people in a fun and interactive manner. This is what advocacy through games is about and I would be sharing these resource materials in the coming days.

As a parent, how did you begin the conversation around sex and STDs for your children? Teachers are known to be more open but they're limited within the confines of their curriculums. How about youths? Discussing their personal relationship issues with their parents is next to impossible. By playing games we normalize the conversations sorrounding taboo topics.

To save the awkwardness of it all, use a game to  save some shame 🙂