The challenge of helping communities move towards a low carbon circular economy lies majorly in the level of knowledge and sensitiveness of the country’s citizens.
The Nigerian ministry for Environment admits that, the Ministries efforts seem to "have yielded so little in environment because of the level of awareness of citizens and the very low involvement of our communities." The Ministry has consequently renewed commitment to "advocacy as a tool for achieving a sustained, green conducive and fruitful environment"
Environmental education is therefore paramount because, “Policies are important, laws are important, but changing mindsets matters more” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Transitioning to a low carbon economy requires educated citizens who make deliberate and environmentally conscious actions and adoptions of pro-environmental behaviours. This will ensure the active involvement, support and cooperation of the citizens to the policies and laws aimed at stimulating this transition.
Sweden is arguably the best nation in the world when it comes to recycling and reusing waste. Swedes commonly separate all rubbish in their homes and deposit it in sepatate containers according to type. The government attributes the success of their ‘Recycling Revolution’ to the awareness, cooperation and sensitiveness of its citizens.
The challenge therefore is to develop strategies to effectively educate and change behaviours and mindsets of the citizens of Nigeria.
sana Games, our proposed tech organisation, dedicated to developing environmental educational mobile games will tackle the challenge via our flagship project, sana Naija, which is a digital mobile game app that teaches sanitation, waste sorting, recycling, landfill hazards and the importance of tree planting for air quality, in a highly immersive, fun and interactive way.
Between the quest and the trivia aspects of the game, players understanding and knowledge of the specific and salient environmental issue of waste management will be increased exponentially. The goal is that players will develop sensitiveness to how lifestyle choives impact the environments and will ultimately alter their behaviours to be increasingly pro-sustainable.
Current estimates put smartphone users in Nigeria at roughly 25million and mobile broadband penetration is forecast to rise to 55% of the population by 2025. 62% of smartphone users download a game in the first week of having purchased a smartphone. The projections are promising.
sana Naija aims to use the power of the digital space through gaming and competition to drive awareness and change.
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