Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1425443
OPINION 4.11.2021 Alexiei Dingli Prof Alexiei Dingli is a Professor of AI at the University of Malta and has been conducting research and working in the field of AI for more than two decades, assisting different companies to implement AI solutions. He forms part of the Malta.AI task-force, set up by the Maltese government, aimed at making Malta one of the top AI countries in the world I n 2015, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly approved the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed as a blueprint to create a better and more sustainable fu- ture for all. They emerged following the conclusion of the Millenium Develop- ment Goals and should be achieved by the year 2030. In 2018, eight organisations from all over Europe embarked on a project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the EU called C-SDGs (Embracing the SDGs through Creative Arts). The local group comprised of Esplora, the University of Malta, Lignin Stories and Fondazzjoni Ċentru Kreattività. eir European counterparts includ- ed the Copernicus Science Centre (Po- land), Picapipe GmbH (Austria), Seven Stories (United Kingdom) and the OFF Foundation/Hodworks (Hungary). e idea was to bring together peo- ple from various European countries with different experiences, knowledge, skills, competencies, and traditions to conceive fresh approaches and create resources to teach kids. is project addresses three particu- lar themes of the UN SDGs: • Life Below Water- to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development, • Quality Education- to ensure in- clusive, equitable quality educa- tion and promote lifelong learn- ing opportunities for all, and • Gender Equality- to achieve gen- der equality by empowering all women and girls. All of this will be achieved through three Creative Art forms; Digital Games, Storytelling and Dance. The aim is to raise awareness of these glob- al issues through innovative learning methods in an informal environment. All the resources produced can be found on the official project website (http://www.csdg.eu/). is also in- cludes two games created by the Uni- versity of Malta, which can be played online. e first game is called Marine Sal- vation. It's an online board game rep- resenting the map of Malta with game mechanics similar to the game of GO. In fact, players are given pebbles, and they have to take possession of the en- tire board. The game gives them the ability to be the Prime Minister of Malta for a few minutes, and they have to decide on the actions to take. These actions include enacting severe fines to fight sea pollutants, creating a sewage treatment facility, getting people to go green, establishing a wildlife con- servation centre and many more. Of course, some actions are better than others, and the most environmentally friendly ones give more pebbles. On the other end, the player has to con- front an evil Artificial Intelligence (AI) system, mimicking a greedy or- ganisation trying to destroy the envi- ronment. In fact, the AI takes actions that have negative connotations on the environ- ment, like; enacting policies to dump waste in the sea, building an industrial area next to the coast, promoting over- tourism policies, increasing fishing quotas, and many more. e players take turns to place their pebbles on the board, and they must secure the most significant chunk of the board before their opponent. e second game is called World Equality and follows the exact mechan- ics of the first game. However, since we're talking about gender equality worldwide, the board depicts the map of the world. e player is catapulted into the driv- ing seat of world leaders. He is asked to help create a fair and equal society that echoes the voices of many underrepre- sented women worldwide. On the other hand, there is once again the evil AI trying to suppress women's rights. Both players still have to earn pebbles and take control of the whole board. However, the actions are very different. Some of these actions support gen- der equality by forming new organisa- tions, like the UN Women, ActionAid, Girls Who Code, etc. Other activities promote women role models such as Malala Yousafzai, Marie Curie or Hillary Clinton. But the third group give the player the option to enact actions that have a detrimental effect on women. ese include unequal pay initiatives, turn- ing a blind eye to discrimination in the workplace or forcing girls to get mar- ried, just to name a few. If these actions are chosen, the player will lose his peb- bles! Furthermore, some pebbles are ge- ographically restricted because some initiatives or personalities hail from a particular content. So players have to choose wisely; otherwise, they would be heading towards global disaster if they don't play the game strategically! Both games are stimulating to play and give children a fresh outlook on these severe problems. ese games and many others are already available on the official website (http://www. csdg.eu/), and they can be played to- day for free. Other outputs will be initially ex- hibited in the two science centres and then made available online. Moreover, the resources developed will be dis- seminated to teachers and trainers in one of the multiplier events foreseen by the project. e beneficiaries will have the oppor- tunity to explore scientific concepts through creative forms, transcending traditional barriers, and learn best practices through training experiences and meetings. So what are you waiting for? Why don't you start working towards gender equality and environmental awareness by playing one game at a time! Teaching children about gender equality and environmental awareness through games