Participatory Pokémon GO
A city-wide, youth-led challenge to create new PokéStops around Boston.
We'll work with middle school and high school students to choose the sites of new “PokéStops" for Pokémon GO. PokéStops are real-world locations where players must travel to play the game. We believe it is important that these places represent locations that are important and accessible to our residents. We'll ask youth to research and advocate for new places the game should celebrate. As a result, these new PokéStops will be added to the game permanently.
The challenge
From July 10 - August 18, 2017, youth across the City will research their neighborhoods to identify meaningful locations. These can include small parks or historic buildings where something awesome happened. Students will make 60-second videos explaining why these locations should be included in Pokémon GO. A youth-led selection process will then review the videos and pick the winning locations where new PokéStops will be created.
Through this process, students will gain experience in:
- civic advocacy
- training in media literacy, and
- enrichment through cultural and community exploration.
The competition is a partnership between:
- Niantic, Inc. (the publisher and developer of Pokémon GO)
- Boston's Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics
- Boston's Mayor's Office of Resilience and Racial Equity
- the Engagement Lab at Emerson College, and
- ENGAGE Boston.
How can partners help?
We’re currently seeking any interested Boston summer youth programs to bring this process to their sites. The project includes five lessons that cover neighborhood discovery, advocacy, and video production. These lessons can be delivered in a three-hour workshop, or over the course of several weeks, depending on your schedule.
Participatory Pokémon GO is free, and Emerson College students may be available to co-teach lessons and run video production workshops. The first 25 sites who successfully implement the program will receive a pizza party. Join us for a summer of Pokémon GO fun.
Partners
Partners
Engagement Lab
An applied research and design lab dedicated to reimagining civic engagement for a digital culture.
ENGAGE Boston
Ensuring all youth in school or in afterschool activities experience deep and meaningful civic engagement.
Pokémon Go
Explore cities and towns where you live—and even around the globe—to capture as many Pokémon as you can.
©2016-2017 Niantic, Inc. ©2016-2017 Pokémon. ©1995-2017 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc. Pokémon and Pokémon character names are trademarks of Nintendo. During game play, please be aware of your surroundings and play safely.
