Research group for Media, Innovation and Contemporary Technologies

DGEI - Digital games for empowerment and inclusion

About

IPTS (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies) is one of the seven scientific institutions of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). Problems concerning social inclusion and empowerment have begun to play a big role in our digital society. Social inclusion points to the equal opportunities people need to get in the society to achieve their potential in life. This mostly consists of subjects such as education, employment, a life without poverty, fighting inequality, etc. Empowerment indicates the stimulation of people to take control of their own lives, to take advantage of certain opportunities to become a part of the society and to actively participate in the society.

Research design

IPTS would like to make an explorative study about digital games for empowerment and inclusion. MICT in collaboration with SMIT, research group media, information and telecommunication that is connected to the University of Brussels. For this project, we will conduct an explorative study, using literature, case studies and expert interviews.

MICT and SMIT are united in the Digital Society department of IBBT. The Digital society department aims to becoming an international reference for research on the impact of the ICT innovation on social, economic and policy related themes. The Digital society department also carries out User empowerment studies. Special attention is paid to core elements, such as profiling, privacy, safety and confidence, the digital divide and digital literacy.

Publications

Stewart, J., Bleumers, L., All, A., Mariën, I., Schurmans, D., Van Looy, J., Jacobs, A., Willaert, K., De Grove, F., Misuraca, G., & Centeno, C. (2012). The Potential of Digital Games for Empowerment of Groups at Risk of Social and Economic Exclusion: Evidence and Opportunity for Policy. Report commissioned by the European Commission and prepared by the Institute for Prospective Technologies (IPTS) in collaboration with iMinds.

Bleumers, L., All, A., Mariën, I., Schurmans, D., Van Looy, J., Jacobs, J., Willaert, K., de Grove, F., & Stewart, J. (2012). State of Play of Digital Games for Empowerment and Inclusion: A Review of the Literature and Empirical Cases. Report commissioned by IPTS for the European Commission.

Bleumers, L., Mariën, I., Van Looy, J., Stewart, J., Schurmans, D., & All, A. (2013, 3-4 October). Best Practices for Deploying Digital Games for Personal Empowerment and Social Inclusion. Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on Games Based Learning, Porto, Portugal.

Duration of the project

The project runs from 04/11/2011 - 30/04/2012.

Staff involved

  • Prof. dr. Jan Van Looy
  • Anissa All

Clusters

  • ICT & Society
  • Gaming and Immersive Media Lab

Financed by

  • Contract research