Youth BOOST-er: Increasing Youth Civic Participation Through Game Thinking

Educational Game Supporting Youth Civic Participation

How do you get young people to stop shrugging their shoulders when asked about their participation in public life and start realizing their real impact on the world around them? Dr. Elżbieta Szulc-Wałecka decided to answer this challenge in an unconventional way-instead of reaching for another textbook, she utilized a medium close to young people: games. Her project is an innovative educational tool that combines social sciences with new technologies and gamification, turning social studies into an engaging experience.

The idea did not go unnoticed. The researcher joined the participants of the first edition of PRIME-a science commercialization support program conducted by the Foundation for Polish Science using funds from the European Funds for a Modern Economy (FENG). Together with her team-Joanna Bartnik (Technology Transfer Officer) and Ireneusz Głuski (Business Leader)-she is working to transform the project into a game, take it beyond university walls, and bring it where it can make the biggest difference: to young people.

The project involves developing an interactive mobile game application accessible across various devices-computers, phones, or tablets-designed to foster youth civic skills and create social projects. Users can simulate real-life situations, identify local issues, and design solutions for them, subsequently observing the outcomes of their actions first in virtual space and then-if they choose to do so-perhaps in the real world as well. This experience is intended to inspire genuine engagement in public life and facilitate an understanding of how democracy and local communities function.

The project's innovativeness lies in combining gamification with civic education in a form that has not been present in Poland or Europe until now. Unlike existing computer and board games or workshops, the proposed digital solution not only imparts knowledge but also shapes practical skills and encourages action. The game responds to the real needs of young people, who frequently report a lack of knowledge on how and where to get involved socially, as well as how to translate an idea into a concrete solution. Consequently, the project becomes not just an educational tool, but also a component supporting democratic processes at the local level and the implementation of youth policy.

As Dr. Elżbieta Szulc-Wałecka emphasizes: "I wanted to create a tool that would not only teach young people what civic participation is, but also show them that their ideas can have a real impact on their environment-first in the game, and then in reality."

PRIME is the only "tailor-made" acceleration program for the transfer of knowledge and technology for scientists and their research organizations in Poland, offering support for an individual commercialization path for innovative products. The program provides the opportunity to both develop competencies (e.g., training) and acquire practical skills (e.g., talks with potential recipients). For the authors of the best ideas, individualized support is provided to implement the chosen commercialization path. The PRIME project is financed by the European Funds for a Modern Economy (#FENG) program. The project is implemented by the Foundation for Polish Science (#FNP).