Education: Energy saving becomes a game meant also for deaf people

Enzeb, the first serious game created at ENEA, is set in a condominium in which competitors must achieve the highest level of energy efficiency. Created as part of the ENEA Italia Class A^[1] campaign, in collaboration with the Parma Territorial Agency for Energy and Sustainability (ATES) and the ON/OFF Workshops, the game kit is designed to facilitate and make information and training on energy efficiency in the residential sector more inclusive.

The kit is the result of a collaborative planning process with energy managers, condo administrators, environmental journalists and teachers in developing the board, the game cards and the five scenarios representing five types of condominiums. The game challenge takes place over a period of five years, corresponding to an actual hour of play. It’s not the single player that "wins" but the group that achieves the objectives set by the scenario cards within a fixed timeframe, taking advantage of opportunities and overcoming unforeseen events.

"Enzeb is a board game in which real-life situations can be reproduced through concrete simulations, to accompany those learning processes necessary for the decision-making process preceding the energy renovation of a building", explained the creator of the kit Antonio Disi, ENEA researcher at the ENEA Energy Efficiency Department. “The contents – he said – are those of a traditional training room, but the mechanics and dynamics are those of a board game, with discoveries, moves and strategies to create interaction and competition, facilitating learning also thanks to the possibility of repetition".

To be played correctly, the game needs a coordinator who distributes the cards, keeps time, manages the players and explains game dynamics and objectives. The first 20 coordinators were identified among condominium administrators, energy managers and teachers, while ENEA organized an actual training in Parma.

"After this first pilot phase, we will proceed to disseminate the game nationally and train additional coordinators who will refer to specific territorial organizations and can, upon request, be involved by administrators and training personnel", pointed out Disi.

Over the next two years, ENEA will train the Gold coordinators, i.e. experts on energy efficiency who will be the reference points for local coordinators. Among the first Gold coordinators, the environmental journalist and speaker of the training videos Letizia Palmisano.

As part of the training course, a video series called "Efficiency Signs" was created in collaboration with the Parma section of the National Deaf Institute, in which subtitles and description in sign language (LIS) accompany images and audio. “We have tried to reach an audience of about 100,000 'signers' who up to now have been excluded or not actively involved in energy efficiency issues, breaking down those barriers that people with sensory disabilities often encounter. The first videos are already online and in the coming weeks the playlist will be enriched with additional contributions” concluded Disi.