EduPlay

The 2024 edition of Play – the Games Festival introduces significant developments in EduPlay, our area focusing on the cultural and educational dimensions of gaming. Notably, the expansion of the Science Area involves numerous universities and research centres, while the newly introduced Born to Play area, developed in collaboration with AUSL, emphasizes healthy and accessible gaming. Together, they will enrich the Festival’s offer of cultural events and educational activities for teachers and educators.

Each year, the organisation strives to enrich the programme of the Festival with events and collaborations with important local and national organisations and personalities. To name but a few, the list of partners collaborating with areas or events at the Games Festival this year includes institutions such as: INAF (National Institute of Astrophysics), AIPH (Italian Association of Public History), INFN (National Institute of Nuclear Physics), AUSL Modena, University of Florence, University of Genoa, IMT Lucca, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, University of Bologna, CICAP, University of Turin, and OGS (National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics). This underscore the increasing recognition of gaming as a crucial cultural and educational medium to effectively brings scientific and cultural topics to a broader audience.

This year, a dedicated Hall will host cultural organizations that employ gaming as a tool for research, teaching, and dissemination.

EduPlay will host initiatives that recognize the educational and developmental aspects of gaming as more than just supplementary. The area will feature a rich programme of conferences, talks, and opportunities for reflection. We believe it is both a pleasure and a responsibility for the Games Festival to champion a healthy culture of gaming that addresses pressing social issues such as gambling addiction, bullying, and gender stereotypes. This approach nurtures the essential life skills of engagement, of “being in the game”, where competition and collaboration are intertwined, and interacting with others provides profound insights into one's abilities and limitations.