Strong gaming culture meshes well with sustainability education

This article series presents cases of innovations built here in Espoo that strive for a better tomorrow for all.

Espoo is a leading city when it comes to understanding and using gaming culture as a tool to reach and teach, beyond being a vibrant esport city hosting events and collaborating with esports organizations and companies. Four schools offer esports content, we have two esports clubs and at least three esports companies in Espoo.

This year, an innovative initiative took place within comprehensive education: a Minecraft competition tasked pupils with envisioning a sustainable Espoo in 2040. Participation in the competition was optional, allowing schools to integrate it into their teaching or homework assignments as they saw fit. Pupils were divided into three categories based on age and each category was assigned different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to incorporate into their Minecraft worlds, with more advanced goals allocated to older pupils. Schools had four weeks to take part in the competition and over 45 projects were handed over. By combining sustainability with e-learning, learners were not only engaged in familiar tasks but also encouraged to explore new knowledge domains. Notably, one winning entry was a collaborative effort by 17 pupils who jointly crafted their Minecraft world.