How can we make our cities easy to navigate for everyone while cutting carbon emissions and protecting the environment? The ACT4DYS project has unveiled its new interactive e-learning platform and digital mini-games, offering a creative, game-based learning space designed to put inclusive urban design and climate action into everyday practice.
As the project coordinator and technical lead for the digital tools, CARDET recently completed the national pilot testing of the platform in Cyprus, demonstrating the powerful role of gamified learning in empowering youth and persons with disabilities to champion barrier-free communities.
Interactive Gaming Meets Community Action
Rather than teaching city planning through static manuals, the ACT4DYS e-learning platform transforms complex urban mobility dilemmas into hands-on, scenario-driven experiences.
- Real-World Scenarios: Players step directly into daily situations across the city, exploring what happens when public transport, pavements, and public spaces are either poorly planned or thoughtfully designed according to Universal Design principles.
- The “Satisfaction Bar”: Using their keyboard arrow keys, players navigate through street obstacles and choose the most accessible, eco-friendly transport options. Every choice directly affects the character’s on-screen Satisfaction Bar, giving real-time feedback on how their decisions impact community members’ independence and daily lives.
- Free Open Educational Resources (OERs): Alongside the games, the platform hosts a wide collection of open, self-paced learning resources covering climate change, sustainable travel, and the rights of persons with disabilities, available for free to youth, educators, and community leaders.
Testing the Tools: The Cyprus National Pilot
In Cyprus, where daily mobility is heavily car-dependent and accessible pedestrian infrastructure remains a persistent challenge, CARDET tested the platform through a hybrid model involving both an interactive workshop and online testing.
The pilot engaged 30 participants, including 24 young people, 4 youth workers, and local civil society representatives. In line with the project’s core commitment to diversity and inclusion, 43.3% of participants were young persons with disabilities, and 50% were young people facing fewer opportunities, including young migrants and international students:
An interactive workshop was hosted at CASA College in Nicosia with young migrant students, while asynchronous online testing was carried out in close partnership with the Limassol-based disability support organisation YPARXO, whose members evaluated the platform independently.
Participants measured an impressive overall knowledge gain score of 4.36 out of 5. The strongest improvements were seen in participants’ ability to identify physical accessibility obstacles, their confidence in applying problem-solving skills to real-world city barriers, and their readiness to support sustainable, accessible community initiatives.
Over 90% of participants expressed high satisfaction with the games, and 93.3% stated they would recommend them to peers, praising the visual appeal, intuitive design, and smooth technical performance. All participants are receiving Youthpass Certificates recognising their learning and civic contribution.
Discover the ACT4DYS e-learning platform, test your decision-making skills in the mini-games, and explore our free resources to support inclusive urban change today!
Website
https://act4dys.eu/
