Poverty is a widespread concern throughout Europe, with about 16 per cent of the European population and around 19 per cent of children in the EU living on or below the poverty line. Raising awareness about this crucial issue is the goal of the PING (Poverty Is Not a Game) project, which aims to sensitize youngsters using their own channels of communication in their own language through a video game. The point of the game is to depict the experience of being poor via a role play, in order to sketch out the problems involved and thus avoid the stigmatization of poor people.

By developing a serious game to be used in pedagogical settings, the partners in this project also want to stimulate debate on the use of video games by youngsters and, in particular, the possibilities of video games for learning purposes. This is why an evaluation process is foreseen to capitalize on the project in different contexts.

This new NEF project is truly pan-European, currently involving partners such as the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Fundaçao Calouste Gulbenkian and King Baudouin Foundation (the leader). Its results will be presented at a European conference during the Belgian presidency against the background of the 2010 European Year against Poverty and Social Exclusion.

For more information
Contact NEF director Peggy Sailler at peggy.sailler@nefic.org or see
http://www.nefic.org