And just like that – it is February! We just started our Youth for Youth project one month ago but so many things have happened in the meantime. Let’s check!

You can find below some updates on the project's ongoing activities, get to know our partners better and learn a bit more about Game Based Learning (GBL) and Game Development Process (GDP).

As we are moving toward the preparation of Country Assessments, we would like to appreciate the work that have been done so far. We look forward to seeing the full version of the first Intellectual Output.

Additionally, some of you has started looking for associate partners to support your local activities. When you reach them you can boldly share with them our YFY Summary that provides the insight to the context of our project . You can find the version here.

Last, but not least we encourage you to check the platform with training courses by our Portuguese partner to get inspiration for second Intellectual Output. Their know-how will definitely be a great asset in creating our own MOOC.

Would you like to know more about our team members? In the following section we are going to present in a storytelling format the game masters in Youth for Youth project. Today we introduce you to Muovimente Cooperativa Sociale from Italy and Challedu from Greece. Once upon a time…

Muovimente Cooperativa Sociale

Once upon a time, right in the middle of a land shaped like a boot, stood a beautiful town, surrounded by rich and lush nature. It was such a beautiful place that its inhabitants started to think: "Why should we go wandering around when we already have everything we need right here?". And so the time passed and rumors started to spread, passing from father to son, generation to generation, about some dangers hidden outside. People completely stopped venturing outside of the old stone walls, holding only a very faint memory of what they were hiding themselves from.

However, not everybody was scared. Somebody was restless.

A small group of young inhabitants earned in town the nickname of Mind Travelers, as they were often caught dreaming of all those worlds described in the books, across the forest and beyond... until a moment came when they felt that dreaming wasn't enough anymore. One day they took the courage and ventured out of the medieval walls. They couldn't believe their eyes:

how many interesting people, how many new things to learn! They hurried back to the town, eager to share with their family and friends the treasures they found in the worlds they visited. At first nobody seemed to be willing to listen to them, some people were skeptical, others were afraid... but slowly few approached them, driven by the curiosity to know more.

Soon people started leaving, traveling and coming back with the most amazing stories. Stories of growth and wonder. Stories that would inspire them to go ahead and change what they didn’t like, to improve, to imagine, to create. More stories were told, more people started to find the courage to change and venture out as well... and more people started to arrive, from outside, to visit the town!

That's when the Mind Travelers truly discovered what a powerful tool stories could be: they allowed people to voice their truth and build relationships, moving people around, physically and emotionally... and they understood that this needed to be their mission. They teamed up together and created a reality devoted to show people the paths they discovered, accompany them to visit the outer worlds and make sure they always had a place where they could tell and listen to stories, growing together and inspiring each other.

Challedu

Asimina and Yiannis (founders of Challedu) have always had a beloved friend: their imagination. As the years passed, Giannis decided to become a researcher and teacher and Asimina an architect.

They lived in different lengths and breadths of the earth and whenever they met, they were always accompanied by imagination. How amused they were by each other’s company ... 5 years ago they decided to return to Greece for reasons that do not concern this story.

Since they have always loved toys and games, they decided together to make a better world using their imagination. So, they founded Challedu where they try through the game to realize their dreams for education and society. Today, 4 years later, together with their team, they continue to lead the way in researching and creating game- based solutions.

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