Here, our mission is to engage, connect and empower young teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 for the cause of climate and sustainability. The PoN! Initiative is a non-profit organisation coordinated by the Danish Cultural Institute (DCI) in Brazil, which has two main components: the mobile game "PoN! The Island of the Armadillos" and the "PoN! Educational Kit".
Available for free in Portuguese, Spanish, English and German on the Play Store and App Store, "PoN! The Island of the Armadillos" transforms complex environmental issues into playful, interactive language. Our goal is to help young people identify with environmental agendas and engage in action.
In addition to the game and the kit, the PoN! initiative offers a wide range of activities, such as youth workshops, teacher training workshops, an online collaborative method connecting schools, training dynamics for PoN! Influencers, activation in cultural centres and remote communities, and more.
Innovative education
The "PoN! Pedagogical Kit", also free and available in Portuguese and Spanish on the PoN! website, complements the game as an innovative tool for environmental education aimed at sustainable societies. This initiative is the result of a comprehensive partnership between European and Brazilian organisations, including the Brazilian Ministry of Environment.
Real impact
PoN! materials have already been incorporated into the curriculum of the municipal public school system in Santos (SP), and we are in negotiations to include them in the public school systems of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, potentially reaching 5 million students. This could be just the beginning. With the support of governments, NGOs, educators, game developers and adequate funding, the PoN! Initiative has the potential to become a regional, international and intercontinental campaign, connecting children and young people in Latin America and Europe through play, promoting reflection, discussion, engagement, language skills, mutual understanding and action for the cause of sustainability.
Collaborations and the future
ICD has been operating in Brazil since 2008, carrying out hundreds of cultural projects aimed at strengthening intercultural dialogue in an equal and mutually inspiring way. Since 2019, ICD Brazil's work has focused on the cultural dimension of transformation for a sustainable world. In 2023, our efforts resulted in new partnerships at national, state and municipal level in Brazil, as well as an expanded collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union in Brazil.
The 2022 stage of the PoN! project was financed mainly by the European Union, through the programme European Spaces of Culture EUNIC Global, and the initiative has broad institutional support from more than 40 Brazilian, European, Colombian and international partners.
