Games for Dialogue

Exploring common ground through dialogue and serious gaming

Serious games have the potential to ignite dialogue. At the same time, dialogue principles can also enhance serious games due to their interactive process. How can we bring these two worlds together to support and learn from one another? In this mini symposium, we will explore the relation between serious games and dialogue for research and education settings. This is organized together with Wageningen Dialogues, the WUR Game Hub, PE&RC and WIMEK and acts as a lead-up to future events: Federico Andreotti’s PhD defence on December 12^th, WIMEK inter- and transdisciplinary activities, and the "More than Researcher Game” by Wageningen Dialogues in 2023.

Serious games are well-developed participatory research tools to learn about, discuss and explore complexity. By playing a game that mimics part(s) of the real system, participants explore the potential impacts of their actions, while sharing their knowledge and understanding of the system's functioning at hand. These tools aim to foster dialogue among multiple stakeholders and can create common ground in which all the participants tackle complex challenges. This happens whilst learning together by playing in a collective setting.

Finding common ground

What is the relation between dialogue and serious games? How can games bring together different perspectives to tackle complex challenges? What does simulating multi-stakeholder scenarios in classrooms do to stimulate dialogue on these complex and abstract topics? We will explore these topics and more during this mini symposium.

Experiential setup

In this live and interactive space, we offer participants the opportunity to play interactive games designed to support researchers, teachers and students to think beyond their disciplines and explore the boundaries of interdisciplinary dialogue. Dialogue forms an inherent part in serious games, and during this event we will experience how dialogue can develop through several serious games. We will show and play games that are developed by Wageningen researchers, PhDs and students.  Participants will see how they can facilitate a serious game and practice ways to deal with real-life challenges through various gaming simulations. We will then discuss challenges such as different power dynamics, unequal playing field, those who do not follow the rules of the game, etc.  To truly immerse ourselves into the potential of dialogue and serious games, this afternoon event has two parts:

Part 1: An experiential carousel to engage with serious games

Part 2: An open space setting to reflect and explore the common ground between dialogue and serious games

This will be a live-only event. To help us avoid food waste and prepare for the day, please register via the "Register" tab or here.