NEW DELHI, India – An interesting new initiative has been launched using mobile gaming as a mouthpiece in helping educate gamers on issues of climate change. Dubbed Connect-2-Climate, this innovative program is a collaborative project between games developer ZMQ Software Systems and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), with the release of games such as ‘DeCarbonator’ and ‘Mission Lighting’ across India, it hopes to engage players on a fundamental entertainment level with an eco educational agenda in tow.
ZMQ has a history of giving games a sense of global social responsibility, having previously launched games in India to educate people on the subject of HIV and AIDS. This follow-up series of titles, themed around issues of climate change, again shows a serious commitment to harnessing the reach of mobile gaming to help affect positive change. Dr. R. K. Pachauri, Director General of TERI and co-recipient of 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace and Understanding on behalf of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said:
“Mobile games on climate change awareness are ideally suited for youth and children. It is from there that the change is going to come”
Echoing this vision, Hilmi Quraishi, Project Director on the Connect-2-Climate initiative said:
“It is our corporate social responsibility to use latest technologies that enable us to reach out to millions on one click of a button”.
The games are now available in India through Reliance Mobile World, a portal for mobile entertainment in India. Mahesh Prasad, President of Applications Solutions and Content Group at Reliance Communications explained how far reaching the initiative is within India:
“Connect-2-Climate is yet another important initiative through which we hope to spread the awareness of environmental conservation among the vast Indian population. Reliance Mobile World has today become the access point for over millions of unique customers, making it one of the most popular medium in India today. With this reach cutting across more than 4 lakh villages and over 20, 000 towns, we offer a unique opportunity to spread environmental awareness using latest technologies”
Granted, the games aren’t pushing the gaming envelope in terms of technology, nonetheless if you fancy trying them out you can test them in the Mobile Games section on the Connect-2-Climate site.
What are your thoughts on this. Would you encourage your kids to play these sorts of games above others? Would you play them yourself? Let us know in the comments section below.