We embarked on an ambitious project with Fabel, which aimed to rejuvenate relations between civic space and policymakers in Turkey. Mobilizing NGO representatives in Turkey, our efforts focused on creating a roadmap for policy change, advocating for the reinstatement of fundamental freedoms. We conducted a series of workshops online and face-to-face in Istanbul and Ankara, bringing together 38 representatives of diverse stakeholders from civil society, academia, and media. These workshops aimed to produce actionable measures for policy change, strengthen ties between stakeholders and policymakers, amplify media outreach, and garner public support.

Afterwards, we moved the discussion to a more comprehensive area at our forum and networking event in İstanbul, where we brought together the participants in the two cities, both with each other and with the media with the participation of 41 persons.

 

Electionville is an educational board game designed to bring the complexities of democracy to life in an engaging and interactive way. Participants take on the roles of city council members representing different political parties in a fictional city. Each player or team is tasked with managing limited resources across various political priorities, such as education, healthcare, and public transport, etc. Through negotiation, debate, and strategic decision-making, players work to allocate resources to their chosen priorities while navigating challenges introduced by event cards. The game is played over a series of rounds, and the winner is determined based on how well they fulfill their party’s goals while contributing to the city’s overall success.

As D84, we adapted Electionville to reflect Türkiye’s unique municipal system. While the game is not exclusively for young people, its gamified approach proves highly effective in engaging youth, making democratic principles more relatable and fostering participation by connecting abstract ideas to real-world decision-making. In our version, participants grapple with real-world decisions that mirror the responsibilities of Türkiye’s local governments, helping them connect abstract democratic principles to everyday realities.

We’ve already seen how much potential this kind of learning has to make democracy relatable, especially for young people. During the Turkish adaptation process, we tested the game with 15-20 participants, playing multiple rounds and gathering feedback to refine and improve the experience. By gamifying this experience, we’re not only teaching democratic processes but also showing how active participation in local governance can shape better futures for their communities.