"Play and Learn" Digital Game Idea Competition to Instill Hygiene Awareness

The Eczacıbaşı Group, Netmarble Turkey, and the Turkey Informatics Foundation (TBV) will organize a new digital game competition called "Play Learn" to reward digital game ideas that enable individuals to learn basic hygiene rules in an entertaining way. Following jury evaluation, winning teams will receive TRY 40,000 each in development support and mentorship, as well as assistance in converting their ideas into games. The competition deadline is 31 March 2020. Covid-19 pandemic affects Turkey as it does the rest of the world. In these times, the most effective way to protect against bacteria causing the disease is to practice personal hygiene correctly. Wishing to draw attention to basic hygiene rules, the Eczacıbaşı Group, Netmarble Turkey and the Turkey Informatics Foundation (TBV) are launching a new digital game idea competition called "Play Learn". The competition aims to recreate hygiene education through digital platforms and game technologies, thereby enabling individuals to learn basic hygiene rules in an entertaining manner. Participants can visit www.oynaogren.com to learn the competition terms and submit a document detailing their ideas and introducing the development team, along with a demo showing the visualization of the concept (such as coding a specific section, creating graphic animation, etc.).

For healthier new generations

Barış Özistek, Chairman of the Board of Netmarble EMEA, stated: "The coronavirus pandemic is currently the most pressing issue occupying the agenda of the entire world and our country. It threatens not only health but every aspect of life. The most effective way to protect against this virus is personal hygiene awareness. As Netmarble Turkey, the Eczacıbaşı Group and TBV, we embarked on a journey to instill hygiene awareness in new generations through digital games, one of the channels most easily accessible to them, and we have launched the "Play Learn" competition. We aim to contribute to the healthier upbringing of new generations and to prevent similar threats in the future by converting the ideas that will emerge from the competition into games. We invite everyone with a digital game idea that will enable individuals to learn personal hygiene rules in an entertaining way to participate in the competition. Remember, there is something we can all do!" The deadline for participation in the competition, which is open to anyone with a digital game idea that will contribute to building hygiene awareness in future generations, is 31 March 2020.

TRY 40,000 support for next-generation hygiene concepts

Following jury evaluation conducted by the Eczacıbaşı Group and TBV, up to 3 teams among participants will be awarded prizes and winning teams will receive TRY 40,000 each in development support. Additionally, mentorship will be provided during the transition from concept to implementation and selected ideas will be developed into games. The jury will include Esra Eczacıbaşı Coşkun, Board Member of the Eczacıbaşı Group and Digital Transformation Coordinator at Eczacıbaşı Holding; Barış Özistek, Chairman of the Board of Netmarble EMEA and Board Member of TBV; Esra Başkaya, Health Educator at the Eczacıbaşı Hygiene Project; Güven Çatak, Department Head of Digital Game Design at Bahçeşehir University and Founder and Director of BAU Game Lab; and Ozan Aydemir, Founder of Gaming In Turkey Game Agency. The competition winners will be announced on 7 April 2020.