Active Avatars - Gamification in Social Pedagogy

Active Avatars are part of the solution to the core task in Sønderborg Municipality. The digital solution makes sense for citizens and staff and is an innovative and exciting way to solve social educational tasks.

The platform is inspired by the gaming world and the features of the solution are based on elements from role-playing games. Active Avatars manage to motivate participants to perform everyday tasks in a fun and motivating way and contribute to increasing the participants' health, independence and social networks.

What platforms do Active Avatars work on?

Active Avatars is available as a web solution and app for Android and iOS.

What are Active Avatars about?

Active Avatars combine modern tools from the digital universe (gamification) with classic social pedagogical methods. 

The citizen has a digital avatar in a universe that suits the citizen's interest, such as gaming, animals/pets, sports and leisure or food. The avatar can develop its skills and, as part of the progression, get cool new items in the form of clothing, equipment and companions. All avatars participating in the group course work together so that the group develops and increases in levels. The group dynamic means that the participants have a responsibility towards each other - when they solve their missions, they also contribute to the success of the team.

The missions – which are a large part of the avatar system – are solved in the real world. This can be, for example, participating in handball training, cleaning up, checking your e-box, paying bills, etc., so that the participant's skills are strengthened. At the weekly meeting in the group courses, the participants' solution of the missions is collected, and together the participants reflect on which competencies they have acquired. The focus is on the missions supporting the citizen's development within health, cooperation, concentration and the like.

How did Active Avatars come about?

The digital product Active Avatars is developed by Serious Games Interactive with the involvement of the target group. The solution will be completed in 2024 through the Project Platform for Community, which started in 2021 and was supported by the VELUX FOUNDATION.