An initiative supported by the World Bank Institute, infoDev, and the Korean Trust Fund on ICT for Develop-
W
Evoke: A Crash Course in Changing the World
ith support from the World Bank Institute, the Korean Trust Fund on ICT for Development and infoDev,
participants from around the world answered an urgent
call using EVOKE, a massive multiplayer, on-line classroom where students of all ages learned about social
innovation using a fictional comic book set in the
year 2020. This alternate reality platform connected groups of students, professionals, and industry innovators across
cultures and distances to work towards
the
common
goal
of
creatively solving some of the
world’s
most
critical
social,
environmental,
and
political
challenges.
With young people around
the world dedicating 3 billion hours per
week to gaming, EVOKE leverages technology to engage social innovators using a familiar and popular medium. In one scenario, heroes of the graphic novel took
action on a fictional famine in Tokyo.
Players were then given a mission to increase
f o o d
security in their own communities and document those actions in blogs, photos or videos.
Players formed their own innovation networks, brainstormed solutions to real-world development challenges,
and learned what it takes to be a successful social innovator.
By the time the EVOKE adventure ended on May 19, 2010, it
had generated:
19,324 people from 150
countries registered to play.
23,500 blog posts (about
335 each day)
4,700 photos
1,500 videos
178,000 unique visitors
2,345,000 page views
At the heart of EVOKE is an engaging educational
environment, community-grassroots innovations, and
an opportunity to bridge the gap between youth and the
private sector.
EVOKE has illustrated that
students of all ages, who
increasingly engage with the world
through cell phones, social
networking sites and games,
can be reached through creative
methods that tell a story and
challenge them to save the world
– not just online - but in their
own communities
COMMUNITY RESPONSE
“Congratulations on a wonderful
serious game that is
coming at precisely the right time.
As social innovator, investor and social
engineer in Cape Town, South Africa I am
excited to see where we are going.
The educational benefits are enormous“
Dorette Steenkamp, March 4th, 2010
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
“This game is very educational. I left
more conscious of the destruction we have
brought to our environment. I also
learned some ways we can solve this problem.
This activity motivates you to make changes“
Carl Coffill March 27th, 2010
“Amazing concept and an ingenious way
to utilize the world of gamers as a resource.
I’m a gamer and I believe we as gamers can
change the world using the same
concepts that we use to change the
virtual worlds of games.
Keep up the good work!!!“
Sean, March 26th, 2010
At its core, EVOKE is educational. The game was developed based on the need to get students
to interact with local communities. Players with varying degrees of social innovation experience came
together to find innovative solutions and improve skills needed to thrive in a knowledge driven world.
EVOKE aimed to generate viable early stage innovations, and hundreds of ideas were submitted by players.
A summit will be held in September 2010 in Washington DC to bring together the
game’s most innovative participants. A handful of the game’s best innovators will be mentored by
business and social innovation leaders and given seed funding to further develop their concepts.
The projected social innovations of the selected players cover all areas of EVOKE missions:
Food Security, Poverty and Safety, Urban Revitalization, Water, Education, and Clean Energy.
Ideas range from innovative inventions, like a machine that channels gutter runoff into hydroelectric power, to
ideas for other social gaming platforms, like one aimed at teaching financial responsibility, to global partnerships, like a library collective. EVOKE has succeeded in using gaming techniques and an open innovation platform to turn concepts into reality on the ground.