How Pokémon GO is educating players on the SDGs

CANBERRA — In July 2016 the release of the augmented reality game Pokémon GO became an immediate social phenomenon, engaging tens of millions of players globally. A year later, the game had been downloaded more than 750 million times and continues today to have a strong user base. For Niantic, the San Francisco-based software development company behind Pokémon GO, the large global audience provides an opportunity to communicate important social issues and develop change. And promoting an awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals is a social campaign it is strongly behind. Campaigns for social change, the Pokémon way In January Niantic built into Pokémon GO a campaign targeting attendees of the World Economic Forum in Davos, encouraging world leaders to continue their focus on, and support of, the delivery of each of the 17 global goals. In September a permanent update to the game targeted everyday gamers, allowing players to dress their avatars in a Sustainable Development Goals shirt, building awareness and support for the global goals and their impact on the world. Yennie Solheim Fuller, the civic and social impact manager at Niantic, explained to Devex that the global nature of Pokémon GO makes it a valuable asset in campaigning for social change. “Pokémon GO is a global game with an amazing community,” she said. “Creating in-game ways to support initiatives like global goals is a great way to give everyone an equal opportunity to promote something they support.” Since then, players in Argentina, Austria, Australia, Germany, the United States, and many more places have been sharing images from the game demonstrating their support of the SDGs. “We’ve had a great response from players after announcing each of our global goals initiatives. In our latest update, we saw an amazing number of images shared by players who chose to dress their in-game avatar with the specially created global goals shirt. We’ve been blown away by the creativity and global support,” Fuller explained. Opportunities for collaboration The nature of augmented reality games such as Pokémon GO encourages players to go outside and explore their surroundings. For Fuller and her team, this provides an opportunity to partner with organizations to support civic engagement and community growth. But they are also seeking new ways to engage in philanthropic action to support social change and sustainable development. Through Ingress, another of its augmented reality games, Niantic recently built in-game events at national parks throughout the U.S. enabling players to donate to the National Park Foundation. “Players raised a significant amount of money,” Fuller said. “We’ll be looking for additional ways to use our existing technology to make a positive impact around the world.” Philanthropic grants supporting social and development initiatives are not yet in the cards, but they are under discussion. And organizations, including NGOs, are encouraged to reach out to Niantic to find out how they can build support for their work and potentially partner on opportunities supporting sustainable development. In the modern world, a modern game may just be the best way to build a new base of support for delivering programs and initiatives to developing communities throughout the world. The Niantic partnership can be contacted directly by email at partnerships@nianticlabs.com Devex delivers cutting-edge insights and analysis to the leaders shaping and innovating the business of development. Make sure you don't miss out. Become a Devex Executive Member today.