The “ID GAMES” project is based on the belief that each person should be given the chance to be accepted, valued and have equal opportunities to develop their skills and personality. Social inclusion is defined as “the process of improving the terms of participation in society, particularly for people who are disadvantaged, through enhancing opportunities, access to resources, voice and respect for rights.”(UN Report on the World Social Situation, 2016). Among those groups are people assessed with Intellectual Disability (ID) who may be excluded in mainstream community activities due to social challenges they encounter. Intellectual Disability (ID) is a developmental disorder that affects the adaptive behavior and intellectual functioning of a person, (AAIDD, 2013). People with ID (pwID) face major limitations in conceptual skills, social skills and practical skills. Serious games (physical and/or digital ones) are a well-known non pharmaceutical practice for pwID because they offer a pressure-free environment of experimentation as well as better capture of attention. Traditional games often do not apply to people cognitively challenged, and lead them to lose interest quicker and more easily. “ID GAMES” project focuses on: -Developing an innovative methodology (O1) of participatory living labs for inclusion where pwID, their carers, their trainers, healthcare professionals, game-designers/ developers, university students from related disciplines, people from local communities, volunteers, form mixed teams and design ideas-prototypes of serious games addressing the needs of pwID -Developing 6 serious games (digital, physical, phygital) that adapt to the ages, interests and needs of pwID (O3) -Creating an E-course for strengthening the competences of trainers of pwID, relevant professionals, caregivers and organizations addressing pwID on how to organize and implement participatory game-creation workshops and how to use the serious games (O2) -Developing and E-platform with all the material of the project for sharing its results to a larger audience within Europe and worldwide and promoting inclusion and skills development of pwID and their carers and trainers (O4). The OBJECTIVES of ID GAMES are to: -Promote social inclusion of pwID by involving them in participatory game design workshop -Design serious games that empower various types of skills (conceptual, social, practical) of pwID -Advance the skills of trainers, educators, caregivers, healthcare and other relevant professionals addressing pwID -Empower the organizations working with pwID or advocate the rights of pwID The project “ID-GAMES” will have a great number of beneficiariesduring its implementation. More specifically, it aims to involve: -25 Trainers of pwID and member of staff will be trained through various project activities -100 pwID, Carers of pwID, trainers of pwID, healthcare professionals, volunteers, university students, people from local community, game-designers, game-developers) will take part in the co-creation game workshops -20 pwID will test and use the beta-version and 50 will play the finalized serious games created throughout the project -1000 Carers, trainers, healthcare professionals, organizations working with pwID will get aware about the project outputs through dissemination actions or will attend the E-course through the E-platform All the innovative materials created through the ID GAMES project are promoting the inclusion of pwID, the importance of enhancement of trainers’ competences and the open education in a new digital era. The materials will be available to anybody interested in using and implementing them for 5 years after the end of the project. 6 partners from 4 countries (Greece, Romania,Poland,Portugal) form the project’s Consortium that cover all the needed competences for the efficient implementation of the project: - PEK/AMEA, an organization specializing in improving the quality of life of pwID and in implementing community workshops for the inclusion of pwID - Challedu, an NGO focusing on creation of serious games for vulnerable groups and implementation of participatory methods for inclusion - E-SCHOOL, an organization experienced in adult & VET training cooperating involvement with organizations for the Disabled by offering distance learning capabilities - "Alliance for Children", a teachers association working with students and adults with special educational needs and inclusion of pwID - School and Educational Center (SOSW), an institution of youth with intellectual disability involving all the levels of education (primary- high school, vocational and work adaptive school) -Lusofona University, the largest private university in Portugal with specialized department on Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development
“ID GAMES” aims to: -increase social inclusion of people with ID by fostering equity, live involvement, and cooperation between them, their educators, their carers, university students, game-designers and other people from local community, -Decrease stigma and victimisation of people with ID and their caregivers -strengthen the professional profile of educators and professionals , through training workshops, mobilities and new training tools, so that they will be able to use and create serious games. -create 6 innovative serious games (physical, digital, phygital) treating social and practical limitations of people with ID as well as a methodology for creation of serious games, adapting them and implementing in the specific group. - create digital tools (e-course, e-platform, games) that enhance the sustainability of the project's aims Inclusion of pwID, change of attitude towards disability, empowerment of skills (social, conceptual, practical) of pwID through serious games, enhancement of educators’ and professionals’ skills who work with pwID and empowerment of organisations working with pwID or advocate the rights of pwID are the main objectives of “ID GAMES”.
According to the United Nations Organization (2015), in the European Union the percentage of people with disabilities is 10-15%, with an increase of 2% over the last decade. According to the American Association of Intellectual Developmental Disabilities, Intellectual Disability (ID) is a developmental disorder that affects the adaptive behaviour and intellectual functioning of a person, (AAIDD, 2013). Moreover people with Intellectual disability (pwID) face exclusion from society (Meyer et,1998) with many people from the community to feel either indifferent or even hostile to their inclusion in activities. PwID have major limitations in conceptual, social and practical skills. Serious games are non pharmaceutical practice for pwID but they need adaptation (Robin, 2005). Through “ID GAMES” we created a methodology of co-creation game workshops and 6 serious games for pwID as well as an E-course for training of professionals and local community on the methodology and implementation of the games and workshops. Our project is based on the belief that each person should be given the chance to be accepted, valued and have equal opportunities to develop their skills and personality.