LOCAL WINNER
Beginner Awards: Social impact
Little Princedom
Solution details
A chapter-based storytelling game with educational content on media literacy and human values
for both parents and children. The basic of the platform is the famous novel The Little Prince
written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Our project involves creating a game that addresses four major themes (my relationship with
technology, my relationship with the world, my relationship with others, my relationship with
myself) which would appear as four solar systems on the screen. They would related to
conscious media usage in the 8-12 age group. Each theme would represented by different
planets and each one would delve into smaller-scale issues within the context of a short
storytelling game. Citing some examples of these: cyber security, FOMO, cyber-bullying,
negative self-esteem. Parents and children progress through the game together, allowing parents
to monitor their child's understanding and fostering communication between them on the
discussed topics. After an adventure is done, the program encourages them to open up about
their feelings on the game and to do offline activities together.
To develop this, we would require expertise from child protection experts, parents, teachers,
psychologists, media literacy professionals, programmers and game designers. Parents would
be introduced to the project during parent-teacher meetings. Moreover, we would make a survey
among them to be able to highlight the main difficulties their children face with in a digital
world. These can encourage them to involve their children and promote its use.
The main difficulty we foresee in connection with Little Princedom is that our platform is low
on stimuli, while children nowadays are impatient and prefer to choose contents that make them
forget boredom. We have to convince them that the lack of stimuli is beneficial for them and
that media literacy is essential in the online world to ensure safety. We are dedicated to provide
a platform that enhances digital well-being packed into a story that never loses its accuracy.
Tweet / Slogan
"Embark on an exciting digital journey with your child, guided by The Little Prince and the Fox, learning about media awareness and mental well-being through an instructive, delighting and interactive game!"
Little Princedom
Resources
Our resources, including scientific articles and publications, strongly support the values of our envisioned educational platform, ensuring credibility and alignment with contemporary educational standards.
Context
An average 8-12-year-old spends 5,5 hours daily on screens (Backlinko, 2021). This increasing screen time has diminished empathy and attentive listening (Flecha et al., 2020). Children are introduced to smart devices often without proper guidance (ScienceDaily, 2014), leaving them vulnerable to the challenges posed by the Internet and social media. For many parents it is hard to recognize or address these issues. Our platform supports families by equipping parents with tools to engage their children in meaningful conversations and prepare them for the challenges of the digital era. Featuring soothing colours, gentle animations, and a focus on parent-child communication, it promotes media literacy and mental well-being. Through safe, playful and educational content, it fosters empathy and social skills while aligning with broader goals to nurture resilience and understanding in young minds.
Who Benefits?
Our main target group is children aged 8-12, as this age range aligns with the minimum age of 13 required to create a social media profile in most countries, including EU members. We aim to prepare them for the risks of social media, ensuring they are equipped to navigate it responsibly. In parallel, parents form our secondary audience. We plan to develop two applications: Little Princedom for children and Little Kingdom for parents. This dual approach helps parents gain deeper insights into their child’s emotional and intellectual world, maturity, online behaviour and the risks they face. Through engaging content, we prepare children to navigate the Internet in a playful, relatable way, encouraging responsible online usage and addressing challenges like cyberbullying, loneliness and FOMO. The platform fosters trust and helps children see their parents as reliable allies, promoting open communication and equipping both parents and children to tackle these issues together.
Impact
Children and parents can use the application together but not necessarily simultaneously, as its chapters are tailored to each audience, and progress can only be made collaboratively. This setup encourages dialogue between children and their parents, supported by parental guidance with integrated screen time limits. Our platform supports the users to spend quality time together while parents gain insights into their children’s thinking, problem-solving, emotional depth and maturity, assessing their choices during interactive adventures. Little Princedom nurtures empathy, helps children become emotionally attuned and conscious online, and fosters meaningful connections in the offline world. The platform’s impact is evaluated through reflective registration and output forms, where parents and children share their initial feelings, current insights and lessons learned, promoting stronger family bonds.
Team work
We approach this challenge from diverse perspectives, recognizing that these issues deeply affect our surroundings. As Communication and Media Studies students, media literacy holds particular significance for us. Eszti feels a professional responsibility to promote media literacy and mental well-being for society. Miron is concerned that young people are losing touch with their emotions, leading to misunderstandings and disconnection. Panna is personally motivated, as her best friend fell victim to cyberbullying at the same age as our target group. Berci is worried by the media's negative impact on the personalities of future generations. As aspiring media professionals and future parents, we see a unique opportunity to nurture a conscious, empathetic and resilient generation. United by this vision, we are committed to enhancing quality of life by fostering mental health, digital well-being and a positive relationship with media in the service of society.
Innovativeness
The project leverages gamification and storytelling to enhance media literacy, providing children with a simple, enjoyable learning experience beyond school. It fosters parent-child connections by including reflective questions at the end of each adventure, prompting meaningful conversations. To enrich offline life, the platform suggests discussion topics and challenges, such as exploring nature or reading together. Little Kingdom also offers lectures for parents, teaching them how to guide their children through the risks of the digital world. Our platform uniquely combines education on mental well-being and media literacy with encouragement to spend more time offline. While digital devices are unavoidable, learning to use them consciously and responsibly is essential. This balance between the online and offline worlds is at the heart of our mission.
Transferability
Little Princedom is highly adaptable, catering to diverse fields, age groups and cultures through tailored stories. Our platform champions people-centered education, blending effectiveness with enjoyment. Recognizing smart devices as integral to modern life, we leverage the digital world to connect with every child, offering them unforgettable, impactful experiences. However, we also emphasize offline activities, rooted in our belief that the surrounding world including our loved ones holds the greatest value. Little Princedom's framework can integrate seamlessly into education systems, supporting students in various subjects while enabling teachers to oversee activities through the teachers’ version of our platform, Little Teachdom. The platform's potential extends beyond digital, inspiring board games, play sets, books, audiobooks and educational tools to enrich learning further.
Sustainability
Once we secure financial backing for the platform, the first steps will involve developing a comprehensive project plan, assembling a skilled team and establishing technical infrastructure. We will begin by finalizing the design of both Little Princedom and Little Kingdom, ensuring they are intuitive, engaging and aligned with our educational goals. In the beginning, content development will focus on media literacy and mental well-being, incorporating interactive storytelling and gamification. Following this, we will integrate artificial intelligence to personalize the user experience, addressing offline challenges and adapting to user feedback. Additionally, we will implement a feedback system to continuously assess and refine the platform, ensuring its relevance and effectiveness. As we progress, we will also explore partnerships with educational institutions and mental health organizations to expand the platform’s reach and credibility. Over time, we will scale up to include additional educational topics, ensuring the platform’s long-term sustainability and impact.