Examining the Use of Serious Games for Enhancing Community Resilience to Climate Risks in Thailand

Abstract

This paper presents the ‘Kin Dee You Dee’ (Thai for ‘Eat well, live well’) toolkit, which comprises three sets of serious games aimed at facilitating discussions and transformative learning on resilience to urban low-income communities. The first stage of the toolkit creates awareness of key concepts related to resilience, the second stage allows participants to map individual and community assets and identify risks associated with them, and the final stage encourages participants to reflect upon potential threats and to create a strategic plan in response. The study examines the toolkit’s potential in increasing meaningful community engagement and participation, and enhancing disaster risk awareness through the application of the toolkit in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region and Udon Thani province, which are areas that are highly exposed to climate risks. This paper presents the concepts, development and application of the ‘Kin Dee You Dee’ toolkit, concluding that it is a useful tool that can allow policymakers and other involved stakeholders in city development projects to engage with communities and increase risk awareness.

Implementing participatory nature-based solutions in the Global South

“…While indicating that the use of games gave them more space to co-design collective solutions, the residents also expressed that this method offered opportunities to connect adaptation strategies to their values and immediate needs. This example demonstrates that the implementation of informal settlement upgrading projects requires the creation of "safe space" that can offer visibility to underrepresented livelihoods (Marome et al, 2021).…”

“…Serious games are defined as games to engage communities to deliver specific objectives (e.g., pedagogical, or problemsolving purposes) and operating beyond the realm of entertainment (Abt, 1970). In the case study of Kin Dee You Dee ('Eat well, live well') in Thailand, serious games have have been used to engage local communities in the discussion of climate change adaptation strategies (Marome et al, 2021). The experience revealed that serious games can serve as a method to sensibly consider local needs in the context of informal settlement upgrading projects.…”

“…The experience revealed that serious games can serve as a method to sensibly consider local needs in the context of informal settlement upgrading projects. Residents who engaged with serious games expressed acquiring new knowledge that encouraged climate preparedness (Marome et al, 2021). While indicating that the use of games gave them more space to co-design collective solutions, the residents also expressed that this method offered opportunities to connect adaptation strategies to their values and immediate needs.…”

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“…By making a balance between learning and fun, serious games for learning are recognized as a powerful and persuasive tool, encouraging participation, ideation, and discussions among stakeholders. Covering a wide range of forms and mediums, serious games can play a significant role in community building and engagement [6], in the promotion of participatory design [7], in raising risk awareness, and in stimulating decision making and behavior change [8]. Games also can build capability and capacity to train in safe innovation spaces and interactively engage with alternate climate futures [6].…”

“…Covering a wide range of forms and mediums, serious games can play a significant role in community building and engagement [6], in the promotion of participatory design [7], in raising risk awareness, and in stimulating decision making and behavior change [8]. Games also can build capability and capacity to train in safe innovation spaces and interactively engage with alternate climate futures [6].…”