The Youth Participation Idea Competition has now come to an end, and the jury has selected its winner. The win was awarded to team BRilliant, with two additional honorary mentions given to Know Your Neighbors and Älynvälähtäjät. The entire GameIN team warmly congratulates all three teams and extends its thanks to every participant for their ideas and contributions.
Below are the descriptions and jury evaluations of the winning concept and the honorary mentions.
Winner
Rock the City by BRilliant is a mobile-first web application that transforms civic participation into an engaging, collaborative experience inspired by game mechanics. In the concept, players explore their neighbourhoods in real life and document urban issues they encounter, such as cracked pavements, broken streetlights, inaccessible ramps, or littered parks. These observations are submitted in the app as “Rocks.” Each accepted Rock is launched through an animated game element at a fictional character, Brillia, the mosquito mayor of “Brilliant City,” reducing a shared health indicator known as the Buzz Level. When all teams’ contributions collectively bring the Buzz Level down to zero, a “Brilliant Coup” is triggered. This leads to a real-world outcome, where the top-performing teams are invited to take part in a Round Table discussion to help shape decisions about their city’s future.
The jury selected Rock the City as the winner because of its strong integration of gamification, youth participation, and real-world impact. The concept builds a clear connection between playful engagement and meaningful civic involvement, encouraging young people to actively explore their surroundings, identify problems, and contribute insights that can support decision-making processes.
The jury particularly appreciated the clarity of the approach, as well as its accessibility and adaptability in different contexts. The use of game elements was considered engaging yet well balanced, ensuring that the core purpose of civic participation remains central. The Round Table phase was highlighted as a key strength, as it transforms collected observations into structured discussions and actionable proposals. Overall, the concept was seen as highly functional and realistic, with strong potential for real-life implementation.
Honorary mentions
Know Your Neighbors app is a mobile application designed to help people connect with others in their local area and build real-life friendships. It uses game-like features to encourage interaction and motivation, matching users with nearby individuals based on shared interests, lifestyles, and availability. Through the app, users can join events and create their own meetups, fostering opportunities for meaningful social connections.
The jury awarded Know Your Neighbors an honorary mention for addressing the important and timely issue of loneliness. The concept aims to support individuals in forming new connections and strengthening their sense of belonging within their community. It was recognized as well designed for its intended purpose and technically feasible to produce. At the same time, the jury noted that further development would be needed to align the concept more closely with the existing structures of youth work and NGO activities. Despite this, the idea was seen as having clear potential and value.
The Youth & Policymaker Game by Älynvälähtäjät is a discussion-based board game designed to bring young people and decision-makers together in a shared setting. The game creates opportunities for low-threshold interaction by encouraging participants to explain concepts and respond to questions, promoting dialogue and mutual understanding. Its aim is to help decision-makers better understand young people’s perspectives while also helping young participants see decision-makers as approachable individuals with their own experiences.
The jury granted this concept an honorary mention for its clarity, practicality, and ease of implementation. The game can be used in existing environments and does not require significant resources, making it accessible in a variety of contexts. It was seen as particularly effective for group building and ice-breaking situations, as it creates a safe and structured space for conversation. While the concept builds on familiar formats and could benefit from further development to support deeper and more sustained dialogue, the jury recognized its potential as a strong and useful tool for fostering interaction between youth and policymakers.
