Connection through games and climate action

In this part of Animated Engagement, 7th grade pupils from Denmark and Brazil meet online, where they talk about how our countries affect each other and what we can do to protect nature in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Conversation and group work are created by means of joint efforts against evil forces in the online game, PoN.

The making of the game and the thoughts behind it:

About PoN!

PoN is an acronym for ‘Politics of Nature’ – the book written by the Finnish philosopher, Bruno Latour, published in 1999. “Pon! – Armadillos Island”, was officially released on August 31, 2022, and can be downloaded for free on mobile phones and tablets.

In PoN! are the players peaceful armadillos living on an island threatened by fearsome robots that cut down trees, pollute rivers, mine and burn and destroy nature. During such destruction, the island’s ecosystem becomes increasingly unstable and can collapse and disappear completely.

A group of brave armadillos decide to fight the robots and protect the island. Along the way, you learn that the robots are armadillos that are freed when the robot shell is defeated. Players must work together as a team and free their friends from robot dominance, so they all defend nature and help restore balance to the island.

You can play the game solo, two-by-two or in groups of four participants.

Download the game here

A global school project

PoN Diálogo is an innovative school project that connects students from Denmark and Brazil through an engaging online game. The project focuses on promoting understanding and dialogue about climate change and sustainability. Students work together in groups to combat imaginary threats to nature, strengthening their collaboration skills and global perspective. The goal is to inspire young people to take an active part in climate discussions and act for a sustainable future.

How do they play it in the schools?

PoN Dialogo is facilitated by Hanne Pedersen, Anne-Marie Sølling Kristensen and Laura Søndergaard Isaksen from The Animation Workshop. They help with the conversations, dialogue and recapping. Each session begins in the class. After this, the students are sent out in groups where they have to team up with their Brazilian dialogue group. The students must sit in pairs and play PoN with the Brazilian students (also divided into two-by-two), and afterwards, they have a conversation about the game, about each other, and their countries. After each session, there will be a smaller task to prepare for the next time they meet. This task consists of drawing the students’ city and everyday life, later how they imagine their city and everyday life to look like, if nature also has a voice. The assignments are inspired by the thoughts of “Politics of Nature” by Bruno Latour.

There will be 3 sessions of 2 hours. There will be relevant start-up questions for the groups, but there is a hope that the students themselves also will help carry the conversations forward. Both before and after participating in the project, we ask the students and teachers to fill out a short questionnaire to be used for reporting and further development of the project.