An ideas contest for the protection of health: Peer to Peer Players awards the winners

On the 25th September 2019, in the Auditorium hall of the Damiani Almeyda-Francesco Crispi Institute of Higher Education in Palermo, two students were awarded as winners of the ideas contest launched within the Peer to Peer Players project: they received one tablet each, symbol of the correct and responsible use of the web.
The contest, which was concluded on the 30th of April 2019, had the aim of collecting ideas and proposals from students of high schools in the city of Palermo on the creation of useful content for the development of a game App for smartphones and tablets, which will be launched in the next few months.
The main topic deals with the possibility of preventing risks arising from improper use of the Internet, from the access to dangerous sites or from the use of psychoactive substances harmful to health.
After having collected the ideas shared by the students, a technical committee was set up to analyse the participants' profiles, the contents of the proposals and the relevance of the ideas to the project's subjects. The two students started a collaboration with the partnership network and together they created some contents that will be part of the official version of the game App.
Specifically, a serious game is being developed, which will aim at activating young people's reflection on their own behaviours and their consequences. It will therefore be an application, available for download both for Android and Apple, which will have an educational purpose focused on the awareness of the importance of psychosocial health.
Promoting the conscious and responsible use of the web, fostering prevention against psychoactive substances, combating the risks arising from improper use of the Internet, also regarding surfing on dangerous sites for the acquisition of psychoactive substances, were the issues addressed by the students during the development of their ideas.
The awards were presented to the two winning students not only in presence of their classmates, but also with some teachers and the vice principal of the Istituto Francesco Crispi of Palermo. All of them took part in a deep discussion on the risks and resources of young people's actions.
The award-giving moment was also an occasion to discuss the importance of projects involving young people, of active citizenship and of transversal skills that can often be developed through participation in training courses aimed at students.
In this way, thanks to Peer to Peer Players, it was once again possible to sow a small seed that can stimulate the conscious discovery of oneself and the world around us.
About the project
Peer to peer players is a two-year project, funded by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers – Drug Policies Department.
Partners
Project partners are: