For the sixth consecutive year, the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center – EKKOMED, organized the International Student Competition for the Creation of Educational Board and Digital Games, “The Lesson is …a Game!”, bringing together students from Greece, Cyprus and Greek communities abroad in a creative and innovative learning experience.
This highly popular competition, widely embraced by schools, is held under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports and the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The initiative was implemented in collaboration with the Hellenic Ministry of Digital Governance, the Department of Communication, Media and Culture of Panteion University, the Department of Early Childhood Education of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), the Hellenic Association of Information and Communications Engineers, the Panhellenic Association of Graphic Arts Technology Graduates and the Educational Team for the Scratch Game Competition, highlighting the programme’s strong interdisciplinary character.
The competition is open to students from all levels of Primary and Secondary Education and is carried out under the active guidance of teachers. It promotes collaboration, imagination and student participation throughout every stage of the creative process, approaching learning through gamification while connecting schools with contemporary pedagogical practices and the development of soft skills, as part of broad media literacy skills.
Through their participation, students develop essential 21st-century skills, including teamwork, communication, creativity and critical thinking, while also becoming familiar with fundamental principles of game design and digital literacy. At the same time, educators have the opportunity to integrate innovative, interdisciplinary and multimedia teaching practices into the educational process.
This year, for the first time, the Competition introduced the theme “Fake News – Disinformation”, inviting participants to create original board or digital games inspired by this topic. Alongside the game development process, participants became researchers themselves, cultivating their critical thinking skills and learning to assess the reliability of information across media platforms.
The projects were evaluated by EKKOMED’s designated Evaluation Committee based on the following criteria:
- Originality
- Quality of design and implementation
- Educational value
- Theme Relevance
- Degree of active student participation throughout the creative process
The 6th Competition once again demonstrated that when creativity, collaboration and motivation come together, original ideas and innovative educational approaches can emerge, proving that learning can indeed become play.
View the full list of Awards, Honourable Mentions and awarded schools here (in Greek).
Stay tuned for the 7th Competition, featuring an exciting new surprise theme!
For more information: educate@ekkomed.gr