Nigerian children lead in the global gaming challenge as winners emerged in the second edition of Mobo Game Jam, a global game-making competition organised by Kucheza Gaming in partnership with edu360, Union Bank’s education platform.
The competition tailored to encourage young innovators between the ages of 8-18, brought together participants from Nigeria and the United Kingdom (UK) to compete and develop video games or game prototypes that combine creativity, compassion, and computational thinking to defeat a villain causing a global problem, and by so doing raise awareness and provide possible solutions for that problem.
Ngozi Akinyele, the head of strategic brand management in Union Bank speaking at the ceremony disclosed the reason behind edu360’s decision to partner with Kucheza Gaming for the second edition of Mobo Gam Jam.
“At edu360 our goal is to prepare our future leaders for the realities of an increasingly digitized world. We believe education should be a holistic 360 learning experience that extends well beyond the walls of a classroom and this partnership helps amplify our goal.
“Through the Game Jam, we are creating awareness about social issues and working with young people to proffer solutions. edu360 remains focused on fostering collaborations and partnerships like this that boost the development of the Nigerian education sector and provide access to quality learning outcomes for Nigerian children and youth,” she said.
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Similarly, Bukola Akingbade, the founder of Kucheza Gaming noted that games have the power to inspire change.
According to her, there is a huge opportunity available at the intersection of video games and education that can build a sustainable future for children.
“We must ask the question, ‘what do kids need for their future? By taking a considered approach, we believe video games and the disparate opportunities within the industry can help retain young people’s attention, while simultaneously utilising the tool for skill acquisition to build a better future.”
This year’s theme was titled, “clean air” in response to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate action. The heroes were grouped into two categories; the U13 category (for kids aged 8-13) and the 13+ category (for kids aged 13 – 18).
The contestants were tasked with creating a game to defeat the villain of air pollution. The competition which ran for three months received over 500 registrations, with 10 games shortlisted as selected by a panel of esteemed industry judges.
The final live showcase was held in March and global winners were selected from each category after a competitive voting process with over 2,300 votes.
For the U13 category, Mustafa’s game – ‘The Air’ came first and The A3 Production team from Warri’s ‘Air Max’ took the lead in the 13+ category, with other winners emerging as second and first runner ups. Winners were presented with cash prizes and a range of dedicated game laptops.
The Mobo Game Jam is designed to promote gaming as a tool for learning. The Game Jam which is also supported by Ukie Education’s Digital Schoolhouse aims to encourage cultural exchange between participants by promoting inclusivity, sustainability, and humanity in their ideas.
Kucheza Gaming is an Africa-focused exports and games company for 6 to 18-year-olds (primary and secondary schools).
“Kucheza” is a Swahili word meaning “play” or “to play”. At Kucheza, we embrace “play” as a force for youth development and empowerment in Africa, the youngest and fastest-growing continent.
According to the organisers, the next edition opens in December 2022, and for more information participants are advised to visit www.edu360.ng.
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