Historiella

1.  The game helps solve gender inequality in society and education, namelly the invisibility of LGBTI people in History classes and books; and the under representation and misrepresentation of women in social and historical achievements.

2. I propose a game that will teach History from a gender sensitive perspective by highlighting the life and work of relevant LGBTI and female pioneers, creators and role models that don't usually appear in Educational books or in the media. The game offers girls the chance to learn that black, lesbian, trans, gipsy, indigenous, disabled and non-binary women from their culture make History too!

3. The game can be adapted to any culture and language, empowering girls from any country with national examples of inspiring women. It is globally adaptable and scalable.

Problem: gender inequality in society and education.

The World Economic Forum says that worldwide only 24% of news sources are women. The UN released a communication saying “Women’s full and equal participation in all facets of society is a fundamental human right. Yet, around the world women and girls are largely underrepresented.” Also, a recent master thesis concluded the Portuguese Media rarely have black people in their teams of anchors, opinion makers or journalists. These three informations show us that diversity inequality and gender inequality are a reality worldwide.

In Portugal, young women rarely remember the names of women who have contributed to the country’s society development and History. This happens because over time History books and educational curricula have privileged the achievements made by white heterosexual men, and the media mostly invite men to be sources of information, opinion and comments about political, social and economic events. This has contributed to gender inequality - more so in the case of non-white and/or queer women - in society and in the media, a factor that leads to the invisibility of female and LGBTI references in the country.

Our project aims to address this problem.

The solution is an inclusive game that engages girls with the lives and the role of relevant women and LGBTI people from their country. Giving visibility to creative, remarkable women, the game empowers girls by helping them realise they can make a difference in society too because other women have done it in the past, and are doing it now. The game invites them to discover national personalities that can be their new role models. Since Portugal has a common History and a common language with Brazil and African countries such as Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde and others, the game will be produced in Portuguese language displaying role models from these cultures too. Portuguese is the 5th most spoken language in the world, therefore, the game will be available to millions around the globe. Besides the entertainment asset, the game will be a digital tool of informal education and a resource of trustworthy information either for students, teachers and activists. It will also allow to search for results. Introducing simple hashtags such as #lesbian #Medicine, girls will find results that fit their research needs or personal curiosity. It can be accessed by computers and mobile phones.

The game is designed to 16 – 22 year old girls who are culturally permeable and developing their range of references and role models. They live in urban contexts and have access to high school or university. However, due to gender inequality and the underrepresentation of women and LGBTI, they are not aware of past or current national role models they can identify with and be inspired by their achievements in the fields of sciences, arts, inovation, politics, business etc. Considering the UN’s Driver for women’s economic empowerment «Strengthening visibility, collective voice and representation», we believe the game will help young women voice their needs and demands more effectively in society. The game will be developed with the support of a group of young women/LGBTI from Portuguese speaking countries in order to best address their needs and produce a comprehensive tool that mirrors their cultural realities and cultural accents. Also, it will be open to permanent contributions in order to be an up to date resource.

During times of crisis like the one we are living now with COVID-19, women have crafted solutions, pioneered inventions and implemented important social changes in their countries, however several remain unknown. The COVID-19 period can either maintain the dominance of the male representation model, or become a window of opportunity for systems of representation like the Media to become gender equal. Following the Sustainable Development Goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Reduced Inequalities, our solution is an inclusive and gender-responsive educational game for young women and LGBTI.