Gaming as driver for Sustainable Development of the BSR

Overall objectives: 1. Widen the field of using gaming and augmented realities to learn about and have fun in exploring how to build a sustainable future for their region and the BSR the diversity of cultural and natural heritage and contemporary reality of their region and the BSR 2. Innovation of technological, creative, educational and ppp – tools for engaging citizens across borders, and for collaboration among stakeholders with different perspectives on culture and sustainable development.

Project goals in brief: Build a minecraft simulation of the Baltic Sea Region using “real” big (geo-located) data for the sea and coastal region & hinterlands Build a BSR community of users and stakeholders in the major regions to co-create, develop, manage and ensure daily maintainance of the envisaged web of minecraft servers around the BSR Creative, educational, technical and community innovation to achieve this, and contribute to the wider overall aims

Marcus Persson, original creator of Minecraft About Minecraft: Created by swedish Mojang 2009, sold to Microsoft million reg. users worldwide – worlds largest game platform – many million users in BSR. Platform for incredible creativity and an online community across gender, social and other barriers. Allows users creatively to build/destoy building blócks of 1mx1m, cooperate in communities, and to adapt programming codes etc. Called ”lego of gaming”. From mine- crafter in Riga, Latvia Stena Germanica in Minecraft built by minecrafter from Kiel Minecrafter killing a ghost

Big geolocated data : This is all data, which has added a geografical shape and location Urban/regional planners are increasingly seeking to model cities/regions with geo-data to help improve understading of current situation and in order to model future scenarios. Modelling cities/regions through big data has until very recently not been applied much for citizens and the general public

Existing experience connecting Minecraft with big data Denmark was modelled in Minecraft by the Danish Geodata Agency May 2014, which created an enormous global interest. People ”moved into ”their own homes” changed, improved, destroyed neighborhoods etc. Minecraft has been used internationally for various educational purposes without connect to geodata – connecting with geodata for education, tourism and civil engagement in planning s right now being tested in Viborg, Denmark. Snapshots from minecraft version of city of Viborg, Denmark, based on real big data – and created instantaneously Limestone mines in minecraft – Viborg tourist attraction

The target groups Children, young and citizens (Education and culture) Tourists and visitors (Tourism, media and marketing) Citizens and professionals that are interested in sustainable development (Civic engagement)

Innovation Creative, Educational Technical Innovation Creative – how to create the larger narratives on sustainability in the Baltic Sea and on land – and which can work very well in the Minecraft language with big data to back it. Educational – do. in terms of educational value and applications. Technical – do. i.e. how to identify and translate relevant big data to meaningfull minecraft figures, how to overcome technical limitations in the minecraft univers + how to interact with other non-minecraft ICT tools, add ons etc. Capacity to innovate requires connecting experts, partners and users across countries, which should be of mutual benefit and lead to best results.

Innovation by building a Community of users Local management of servers is not viable long term in a BSR projekt unless based largely on voluenteers, i.e. communities of users. This is how Minecraft already works and became a success.

Community of partners Public Environmental/regional and urban planning Educational Cultural (CI, heritage etc) Tourism Civil society Environmental / socio-cultural innovation groups Minecraft user communities (existing) Technical and Business/CI Big data specialist Game-developers Regional marketing Innovation by including diverse stakeholders: The project requires multitude of partners at BSR level and in each region

Process 1. Seedmoney/resources to prepare feasibility study and proposal for pilot 2. Pilot proposal (Riga/Latvia, Kiel/Schleswig-Holstein, Cph/Den + part of Sea) 3. Full implementation (whole BSR region incl. Sea) Process 1. Seedmoney/resources to prepare feasibility study and proposal for pilot 2. Pilot proposal (Riga/Latvia, Kiel/Schleswig-Holstein, Cph/Den + part of Sea) 3. Full implementation (whole BSR region incl. Sea)

Co-financing City/regional (e.g. environmental, tourism/culture, educational/engage) National (same) EU (e.g. interreg or horizon) Private (e.g. foundations et al.) Civic (value of volunteer work in community management) Co-financing City/regional (e.g. environmental, tourism/culture, educational/engage) National (same) EU (e.g. interreg or horizon) Private (e.g. foundations et al.) Civic (value of volunteer work in community management)

Wider benefits

Partners examples: Overall technical – big data+minecraft: Geoboxers (overall on connecting geolocated big data with minecraft) Local game developers (overall + locally creatively adapting overall solutions to local needs and realities) + game developers locally

Partner examples: Environment: Lighthouse Foundation (civil society) HELCOM (governmental – to be contacted

Partner examples: Culture BSR Cultural heritage: Monitoring Group on Cultural Heritage (present)

Partner examples: Education and research Latvian IT-Cluster. Vidzemes Augstskola.. University of Applied Sciences.

VR/AR domains Visualization and interactivity – industrial training – medicine – urban planning – logistics Relation to serious gaming and sustainable development

Simulation modelling Big data management and meaningful use Intelligent virtual worlds Simple on top - used by public

Gamification Availability – indoors, outdoors – borderless Immersive Hardware sets and mobility Communities and collaboration