WTI Magazine #83    2016 September 16
Author : Roberto Zarriello      Translation by:

Italy in game. Il Belpaese (the appellative for Italy, literally meaning "the beautiful country") explained to children is the educational project authored by the Art Director and social communication expert Mirko Notarangelo, who has been the president of the organization MamApulia for a few years. MamApulia mission is to promote a culture aimed at protecting human rights and at strengthening cooperation among different populations by stimulating values such as peace, immigration policies and integration.

Edu-game is the combination of Education and Videogame. In other words, this is an educational game, capable of actively involving children with a virtual experience. In this case, the recreational path of the edugame "Italy in game" will introduce the Italian excellence in different fields, such as fine and culinary arts. Children will play with Michelangelo Buonarroti, Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo Galilei. As the Art Director of this project, Mirko Notarangelo coordinated the work of the producer and the game designer.

The planning and the implementation of an edugame is a long and very complicated procedure, which starts when the game idea is conceived, followed by a feasibility analysis, which involves the challenging confrontation with those who are experts of the contents of the particular subject of the game.

The project "Italy in Game" was launched in 2013 during the Italian culture celebration year in the U.S. Despite being initially self-financed, the business received funds from the Italian Region Apulia in 2015.

"Italy in Game" has been featured at the Italian School "Guglielmo Marconi" in New York, the only school in the U.S. that offers a syllabus both in Italian and in English. Additionally, the project received accolades and positive feedbacks from many schools and institutional bodies. For instance, the Secretary of the Presidency of the Italian Republic recommended further promotional activities to be taken by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and by the Minister of Education"

The project is still ongoing. It received very positive feedbacks, and in fact, Notarangelo is working at a new edugame, which will likely be a literary competition addressed to elementary school students. Updates will be released on www.italiaingioco.com. Stay tuned!