Fostering Children\u2019s Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction Through Play: A Case Study of LEGO and Minecraft

Loïc Le Dé,Graham Hinchliffe,Nickola Loodin,Jc Gaillard,Anthony Gampell

doi:10.1007/s13753-021-00375-1

Abstract

This article focuses on children’s participation in disaster risk reduction. It draws on a 2018 study done in New Zealand with 33 school children who conducted participatory mapping with LEGO and the video game Minecraft to assess disaster risk in their locality and identify ways to be more prepared. The research involved participatory activities with the children actively involved in the co-design, implementation, and evaluation of the initiative. A focus group discussion was also conducted to assess the project from the viewpoint of the schoolteachers. The results indicate that LEGO and Minecraft are playful tools for children to participate in disaster risk reduction. The research identifies four key elements of genuine children’s participation, including the Participants, Play, the Process, and Power (4 Ps). This framework emphasizes that fostering children’s participation in disaster risk reduction requires focusing on the process through which children gain power to influence decisions that matter to them. The process, through play, is child-centered and fosters ownership. The article concludes that Play is essential to ground participation within children’s worldviews and their networks of friends and relatives.

Highlights

Over the last few decades, academics, practitioners, and policymakers have advocated for children’s and youths’1 participation in the development aspects of the society they live in (Hart 1992)
This article focuses on children’s participation in disaster risk reduction. It draws on a 2018 study done in New Zealand with 33 school children who conducted participatory mapping with LEGO and the video game Minecraft to assess disaster risk in their locality and identify ways to be more prepared
The results indicate that LEGO and Minecraft are playful tools for children to participate in disaster risk reduction

Summary

Introduction

Over the last few decades, academics, practitioners, and policymakers have advocated for children’s and youths’ participation in the development aspects of the society they live in (Hart 1992). In recent years numerous initiatives have emerged to foster children’s participation in various subfields of development such as poverty alleviation, urban planning, environmental management, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction (DRR). These initiatives have focused on identifying children’s knowledge and capacities as agents of change (Bartlett 2002; Mitchell et al 2009), documenting good practices to foster children’s participation (Willow 2002; Sinclair 2004), classifying different levels of participation (Shier 2001; Noreau et al 2007; Mayne et al 2018), as well as developing participatory tools and tool kits targeting children (Lansdown and O’Kane 2014)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion