Europeans are deeply worried about corruption - Eurobarometer survey results show that 76% of Europeans think that corruption is widespread and more than half (56%) think that the level of corruption in their country has increased over the past three years. How to stimulate greater involvement among europeans in building a fairer society in that context? Given our economies of knowledge and innovation, how to to develop creative tools to question integrity, a major strategic priority? Here are some of the questions that the European Integrity Games (EIG) project intends to provide answers. Since 2010, Transplanisphère developed several European cooperation projects crossing art and burning topics, in association with the public. The european partners of these experiences have exchanged their practices and co builds activity programs. They also shared their knowledge throughout workshops. Together, they became aware of their role in the field of non-formal education in relation to formal education. Some common values have been identified: autonomy and socialization, participation in social life, search for personal emancipation, the fight against exclusion. Together, they realized that the Integrity topic is one of the most sensitive for the EU citizens, as it deeply affect their perception of the european societies and how they may imagine their future role in this world. They also measured we had few tools to question this topic through art, creativity and gaming. In conducting our first European projects, they also have taken note of these surveys (EACEA, Eurodesk, Salto youth,...) who consider citizens certainly as learners and citizens, but also as practitioners, creators, players. These are the dimensions that the partners want to help boost. Do we need to recall that the artistic practice plays a major role for citizens to support the raise of their identity and social integration? Beyond the access to culture, the practice allows to gain knowledge, skills, capacity of expression and personal achievement. European Integrity Games (EIG) aims at raising awareness of corruption and integrity issues in a creative and innovative way. The EIG consortium bridge the gap between technical expertise and the daily lives of Europeans by developing games. Experts from different organizations and backgrounds will design, test and disseminate these games in a co-creation process. The games will cover recent developments and topics of integrity and also more “classic” matters that creates a distrust feeling for european citizens. The games will consist in two versions of the same story of corruption or fraud : • one will be a role-playing game (RPG) that may be played as a citizen theater workshop in a ground experience • the other will be an Interactive Fiction Game (IFG) for a single user, that can be accessed via any smartphone, tablet or laptop What is corruption? Where and why does corruption happen? Why is it so hard to succeed in anti- corruption programs? What makes corruption a transnational and cultural issue? What can governments and active citizens do to fight corruption? Applying a non-formal education approach, the project European Integrity Games will shed light on questions that are not easy to answer. This work will involve theatre entities bringing their experience in theatrical situations and characters needed for the games. They will also offer their knowledge in running creative workshops stimulating active participation among participants. EIG project also involve as associated partners GOs and NGOs bringing their knowledge on the integrity topic and capable to feed the whole experience with expertise from the citizenship point of view. To reach a large audience (and beyond them facilitators and teachers), the project will appropriate an innovative vector of knowledge sharing: the Role Playing Game and the Interactive Fiction Game. With its different variation (theatrical workshop and online experience), it seems the most contemporary to address a broad audience and offer an attractive range of tools.
This project offers an innovative approach combining games, art, citizenship and digital technology to bridge the gap between economic expertise and Europeans. By creating a collection of 14 serious games that revisit and popularise integrity issues, the 6 partners aim to empower citizens. By making these issues accessible and attractive, these tools raise awareness and allow Europeans to get to grips with them. Our games offer a playful learning space but also the possibility to experience integrity-related situations in a concrete way. Plunged into immersive narratives, citizens are emotionally involved and become actors in these issues. This playful and educational experience enables to fix the learnings in a lasting way, but also to touch the citizens' sensibility. By appropriating these subjects, they become more aware and precise in their appreciation of our societies, and will further transform their practices and perceptions of the topics explored. Therefore, the EIG games aim to make complex issues tangible and enable Europeans to exercise their citizenship, stimulating their engagement and participation.
Integrity is a major issue for European citizens, who question the system they live in. These questions influence our daily behaviour but also our trust in our societies and our social cohesion. If the defence of integrity values is positive and widely shared, its reality is more difficult to define. These subjects are indeed very complex and may seem inaccessible. Understanding the mechanisms at work requires time and research, which can dissuade people from taking an interest or becoming involved. Faced with this complexity, citizens have access either to scientific studies carried out by international organisations (OECD, EU, NGOs) which are dense and complex or to press articles which popularise the subject but keep the citizen as a passive spectator, which can generate a feeling of powerlessness. Distrust or frustration can then set in and crystallise tensions between citizens and institutions. A renewed understanding and appropriation of integrity issues could lead to greater confidence in the system, a desire for citizen participation and better social cohesion.