Having fun and changing behaviours
Here are three resources which have recently crossed my path that involve using fun and games for social change. Some of these work with groups and some work across social spaces – demographics, communities or organizations. What I like about these games is that they provide a built in set of measureables that can be used to gauge progress and evaluate behaviour change. Sesms like combining fun, visible change and simple yet powerful standards for noticing shift is the holy grail in this kind of work.
Games for Change: Games for Change (G4C) is a non-profit which seeks to harness the extraordinary power of video games to address the most pressing issues of our day, including poverty, education, human rights, global conflict and climate change. G4C acts as a voice for the transformative power of games, bringing together organizations and individuals from the nonprofit sector, government, journalism, academia, industry and the arts, to grow the sector and provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and resources.
The Fun Theory: I’ve blogged this before, but The Fun Theory is “dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.”
The FreeChild Project: Lots of games and resources at this website dedictaed to youth engagement around social change. FreeChild has been working for almost eight years to promote the idea that when engaged in meaningful ways throughout society, the knowledge, action and wisdom of children and youth can make the world more democratic, more non-violent and engaging for everyone. By working with adults as allies young people learn, teach and lead democracy throughout society!
Chris–
You might want to check out my friend Bernie DeKoven’s really rich and deep site, http://www.deepfun.com/
:- Doug.
Love his site didn’t know you knew him.
I appreciate your post, and would like to add a level to your contemplations about fun, focusing on fun for its own sake. Fun for no purpose other than the having and sharing of it, because it’s fun. The kind of fun that one might call “pointless.”
It has been my experience that having fun, fun of the genuine fun kind, crosses species and culture and age and gender and any other divisions that you might think of. That it creates community, nurtures community. That it heals, that it brings about greater health, to individuals, to the people they have fun with.
And I was wondering if you might consider adding yet another fold to your contemplation of fun and behavior change, that there is something to be said about fun for its own sake, and that you might have something to say about it your fun self.
Thanks, Chris. Yes, Doug and I have known each other for a while. He is a treasure, and I am honored by his friendship. Thanks also for the kind words about my site. I blush happily in your direction.
I did very much mean what I said when I suggested that you consider the impact of “games for fun” (social games, not necessarily computer games) on human behavior. I’d love to learn your perspective on this.
Ah…well the problem with me is that I hardly can find time to APPLY the fun I have. Most recently I have started an improv theatre group here on Bowen Island for not other purpose than to get a bunch of adults out to play. And I have two kids and we are solidly in favour of ditching “learning objectives” at every turn. They are homeschooled which gives us lots of time for play. If anything the emerging edge for me is integrating aimless fun with the places and people I work with.
Bernie, you’re an inspiration, and I’m touched that you showed up here. I followed you for years on DeepFUN and through all the iterations of junkyward games and other serious fun. Thanks for everything you offer.
I guess I’m encouraging you to write more about fun, Chris. You write so clearly and intelligently, and your work with facilitation and open source is so very much needed. And I am sure you bring fun with you wherever you are. There are remarkably few people who seem to understand the power of play. And, as one such, I can’t help hoping that you would be sharing that understanding more explicitly, that you would be, so to speak, playing it forward.
Thank you for all your kind words, Chris. I am honored.
OK Bernie…yer on.