New card game encourages youngsters to seek solutions to global issues
Two brothers who share a passion for research and innovation have taken the traditional card game and developed a novel idea to promote the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among learners and grassroots communities.
Called, "Prosper", brothers Prof. Byron Bunt and Dr Lance Bunt from North-West University (NWU) designed the game to inspire young people to work collaboratively to achieve the SDGs, emphasising the role of sustainability to preserve the Earth.
"Prosper encourages players to think like global citizens who understand and engage with global sustainability efforts. The game can also be modified and adapted to any situation, like finding a solution at the workplace," says Prof. Bunt.
Unlike the standard deck of cards, Prosper has six cards stating a problem linked to a global issue such as health, economy, and innovation, among other issues. The problem cards also display six categories representing the 17 SDGs. The other cards are called solution cards, which players use to describe their approach to addressing the identified problems.
Prosper is a quick, co-operative game with simple rules. "To start the game, both problem and solution cards are sorted and shuffled separately and then placed in a play area accessible to everyone. Each player draws the solution cards until they all have three. The first player draws the top card from the problem deck and flips this card face up. Then all players discuss solutions, considering the categories and solutions they have access to. The same process is applied on all the cards," say the Bunt brothers. The problem card is considered resolved when all six categories are covered.
Dr Bunt further explained that Prosper is freely available as an open educational resource (OER).
"The decision to make Prosper an OER aligns with the goals of promoting educational access and innovation. By removing barriers to access and allowing for collaborative improvements, Prosper aims to increase education around SDGs on a global scale, making sustainability education more accessible and adaptable," he says.
As an OER, Prosper can be adapted and improved by educators and other stakeholders around the world, incorporating local content and varying pedagogical approaches, which enriches the resource. OERs can be updated and distributed without substantial ongoing costs, allowing Prosper to reach a wider audience and have a lasting educational impact.
Prosper is one of the successful projects of the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) of NWU. The OTT assist researchers in identifying and registering intellectual property (IP) that emanates from their research, therefore protecting the IP that has the potential to be developed into new products, processes and services; sourcing commercial partners; and establishing firms to market new technologies.
The establishment of OTTs emanates from the IP Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act, which falls under the ambit of the National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO). NIPMO is a specialised service delivery unit of the Department of Science and Innovation, which has established OTTs at 26 universities and 11 science councils in South Africa.
