Lisha Thimmaiah (Alumna IAIDP – MDes) and Dr Keya Chakraborty, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design, and Technology, have published a book titled ” ” Play for Peace: Leveraging Place-Based Educational Game Design to Mitigate Human-Animal Conflict” from Ishara Press, United Kingdom. The book is grounded in Lisha’s Capstone thesis. Its objective is to develop an effective place-based educational game design intervention that contributes to resolving the human-animal conflict issue worldwide, based on more-than-human design thinking. This book aims to demonstrate how role-play and collaborative board games can serve as a game-changer in establishing human-nature partnerships through indigenous knowledge systems and co-creation with stakeholders. Congratulations to Lisha and Keya!
The development of this collaborative game offers a tangible and engaging approach to tackling critical environmental challenges, particularly human-animal conflict. By immersing players in the roles of diverse stakeholders and requiring them to collaboratively devise and implement solutions to realistic threats, the game fosters a deeper understanding of ecological complexities and the importance of considering all beings in decision-making. While acknowledging the time constraints that shaped the final product and the recognised need for further testing and linguistic adaptation, the game demonstrably introduces the more-than-human design perspective and its potential to cultivate awareness and promote harmonious coexistence for a sustainable future. The proposed future advancements, including the incorporation of stakeholder knowledge, behavioural insights, expanded case studies, and their adaptation as a training tool, underscore the significant potential of this interactive medium to contribute to a more just and sustainable future for both human and non-human communities.