Games to better the world – Dutch Media Week 2021 In the media

In a mediacollege of the Dutch Media Week 2021 on the 7th of October Professor Ben Schouten talked about the importance of game-technics in sectors other than playing games for entertainment purposes. Games, platforms and social media are increasingly beneficial to healthcare, education and culture. The key is adding the human factor, that changes the focus from establishing efficiency to creating value. The mediacollege is based on Schouten’s newest research project, in collaboration with visual artist Dr. Gabriele Ferri, in which they research the influence of state-of-the-art (digital) play to our (digital) culture and society.

The research links to the publication of the corresponding book Playful Civic Empowerment which will be published in 2022. This book will present different ways of talking about games through emphasising the integration in our society as well as the cultural meaning of new digital forms of play. It addresses the discussion surrounding game addiction through presenting a different, more positive side of play.

The mediacollege contains many examples from practice in a.o. healthcare, city planning and education and can be watched below.