The project aimed to build capacities of professionals in cultural institutions by equipping them with skills in creative game design to attract diverse audiences and involve them in co-creating museum programs. Through non-formal education and practical training, we wanted to provide museum professionals with the tools needed to develop engaging, interactive exhibitions and programs. A key goal was to establish a framework that promotes active audience involvement in program design, fostering more inclusive and interactive museum spaces. Additionally, the project intended to introduce micro-credentials using digital badges ini attempt to recognize newly gained competencies of project learners. In order to ensure long-term impact, the project focused on up-scaling and disseminating its results, making its methodology accessible to a wider network of cultural institutions. It aimed to transform the museum offer into a dynamic learning environment where cultural heritage, art and history become more engaging, relevant, and accessible to different target groups.
We applied with this project based on the needs we have noticed among the museum professionals and artists, particularly in Serbia and Hungary. The Covid-19 has hit the cultural sector and especially museums in Central Eastern Europe, especially in Hungary and Serbia, the cultural spaces already fragile in terms of connection between museums and audience, with a decreasing ability to attract a specific demographic group of young adults, who were already the least engaged. This was largely due to the lack of audience involvement in program design and unlimited use of innovative engagement strategies such as game design and gamification. Therefore, we wanted to equip museum workers and professionals with skills to create participatory, adaptable and gamified programs, in order to attract and ensure greater audience engagement and institutional resilience. By developing a methodological framework we have supported individuals and institutions in fostering sustainable and inclusive practices, strengthening their role as dynamic cultural and educational spaces.