According to Comminit.com, the Half the Sky Movement, a global initiative to address gender empowerment, has produced 3 hand-held mobile games for India and East Africa on topics such as maternal health, child health, and girls’ education and empowerment. For example, the “Family Choices” game aims to enhance the perception of a girl’s place in and value to her family, with an emphasis on keeping her and her peers in school.
The games build upon principles consistent with social learning theory, which asserts that people learn through observing others’ behaviours and attitudes. All three games use two common models to achieve social impact – adventure and simulation. Players are exposed to characters that can serve as role models and will be rewarded for positive actions, such as killing the worms inside their stomachs or seeking antenatal care. Players also face choices, such as making decisions that lead to a delay in marriage and betterment of the family. Games, both online and off, are increasingly being used to help deliver social marketing programs.
