The Irish launch of the GenTOPIA game to promote gender equality and tackle gender-based and sexual abuse and harassment will take place on Thursday, 24th November 2022 organised by FuJo’s Debbie Ging and Derek Laffan (DCU Anti-Bullying Centre). The launch will also feature a keynote from Professor Aphra Kerr from Maynooth University. You can find out more details about the launch here.
The GeGame consortium has developed GenTOPIA as a digital resource to tackle issues such as gender stereotypes, consent, digital safety, street harassment, coercive control, non-consensual image sharing, and homophobic bullying. The resource is aimed at students aged 14 -16 years, and is designed for teachers who deliver subjects relating to issues of personal development, digital safety, gender equality and relationships and sexuality education. The project is funded under the ERASMUS+ programme, and involves partners from Ireland, Spain, Hungary, Turkey, Romania and Portugal and FuJo’s Debbie Ging was the Irish Principal Investigator for the project.
Working with a range of interactive multimedia tools, teachers can help their students to tackle the prejudices, which facilitate inequality, discrimination and abuse, thus promoting equality and inclusivity, and empowering students to live full and equal lives. The resource is also equipped with a Multimedia Handbook which functions as a guide for teachers, providing a rationale and learning outcomes for each game scenario. It also contains additional resources and suggested activities for the classroom.
The game aims to deliver more than merely teaching information or skills, to changing users’ attitudes and behaviour. This is achieved through a number of strategies, including imaginative empathy (putting yourself in someone else’s shoes), revealing the consequences of certain behaviours, and appeals for solidarity or active bystanding.
