An interactive capacity building experience an approach with

An interactive capacity building experience – an approach with serious games Chengzi Chew, DHI Gareth James Lloyd, UNEP-DHI 31 May 2013

Content 1. Introduction to Aqua Republica 2. Games in capacity development and water management 3. Aqua Republica design and applications 4. Potential and promotion of games 5. Future developments

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Introduction to Aqua Republica • DHI and UNEP-DHI Center project • Aims to promote sustainable water resources management by sharing knowledge to: • Raise awareness • Build capacity • Integrating numerical model, real data and real life scenarios www. aquarepublica. com

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Games in Capacity Development and Water Management Serious game is a category of games that is designed for a specific purpose other than for entertainment They are capable of: • Solving complex problems collaboratively • Achieving predictive modelling and real time visualization • Increasing 120% more self learning and 109% more retention of knowledge, compared to traditional methods* • Providing a flexible and scalable learning environment • Improving ROI from processes and resources *Source: ADL Research & Evaluation Team Examples of organisations that uses serious games

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Games in Capacity Development and Water Management In Aqua Republica, we try to • Raise awareness of various water issues • Promote problem solving in water issues • Disseminate best practises in solving water issues (thus building capacity)

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Aqua Republica design and applications Typical game design (e. g. Monopoly): 1. Well defined area (the game board) 2. Set of rules (buy property, pay rent, chance cards, go to jail) 3. Struggles (be the player with the most valuable property cards) Note: set of rules and struggles are only valid ingame Source: www. freeweb. com

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Aqua Republica design and applications Aqua Republica design: 1. Well defined area (a water catchment) 2. Set of rules (Food, energy, water connectivity) 3. Struggles (build a prosperous catchment while managing demand conflicts) Note: set of rules and struggles are only valid in-game but can be applied outside the game

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Aqua Republica design and applications Applications Purpose Stand-alone game Raise awareness of issues Build capacity on an individual level Hands-on exercises with a teacher Competition between participants Assessment Build capacity on an individual and organisation level Engage participants’ interest and increase discussions Using a fictitious virtual environment Appeals to a wider and more generic group of audience as game content does not reflect any local region Beneficial for breaking down Monitor and track learning barriers of communication because of the neutrality of progress Engage participants’ interest the environment and increase discussions Monitor and track learning progress Using a realistic virtual environment In-depth discussions relating to local issues

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Potential and promotion of games Games are new interactive tools for teaching, using more games to teach will drive more game developments and will improve game design. ? ? Analog game Source: youtube. com Digital game

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Potential and promotion of Aqua Republica • Readily available • Ease of use (sign up, login, play) • Modular components for customisation which allows • Changes in numerical model or water data • Changes in landscape of the game • Changes in languages and scenarios within the game • Changes in learning goals

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Potential and promotion of Aqua Republica demo in West Africa 2013

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Potential and promotion of Aqua Republica UNEP-DHI Eco Challenge in Thailand 2013

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Future developments • More complex processes • More cirriculum and associated training materials • More platforms (e. g. mobile) Source: www. asymco. com

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Future developments of Aqua Republica

Purpose of 5 th Symposium Thank you for your attention. For more info, visit www. aquarepublica. com Aqua Republica Video Contact details Name: Mr. Chengzi Chew @chengzichew Mr. Gareth James Lloyd Function: Serious Games, Head Senior Programme Advisor Organisation: DHI UNEP-DHI Email: czc@dhigroup. com gjl@dhigroup. com