Childhood in the challenging Colombian reality; the optimism, strength, and vitality that I have witnessed among the less privileged ones; and my commitment of sharing my work with others: these are the inspiration behind my graduate project called "The Travelers' Game."

Based on a research study that I performed on the school Colegio Distrital Sierra Morena and on the interdisciplinary work in areas such as psychology, education, and design, I created  El Juego de losViajeros [The Travelers' Game], a service design that facilitates the process of social inclusion for children in Bogota' s public schools.

The project stems from an interest in supporting victims of forced displacement, yet it contemplates the needs of all children. It maximizes their abilities and their potential towards building and becoming part of a community. This goal is reached by applying a series of guided-activities in which a facilitator (teacher) and two groups of students interact. They have the guideline of the Department of Education (which offers the service) and the help of a toolkit consisting of a trunk, 30 tasks of activities to perform, a map, a logbook with a chronometer for the facilitator, and a medal.

The service takes place in three stages in which teachers, psychologists, and students interact: in the first stage, psychologists of the Department of Education train the teachers on how to apply and play the game; in the second stage the activities are performed with two groups of students during an entire school year; and finally,  the feedback stage aims to evaluate the performance of the game and the impact it generates in social dynamics. Using the toolkit in each of the stages is fundamental, as well as the active participation of every actor.
 

Once the project had been designed, an initial pilot was created withthe help of two psychology students of the University of Los Andes, also, Iwrote a paper with Natalia Agudelo (project director) and It was published inthe magazine of the first SBCS (Simpósio Brasileiro de Ciência de Serviços)[BrazilianSymposium of Services Science]. All these efforts were made to continue developing the project and to invite non-profit organizations (ONG) to promote and sponsor the application of the project in various schools in Bogota or around the world.

Thanks to:
NataliaAgudelo, Main Adviser.
AngelaRodriguez, Advising Psychologist
Aura,teacher at the Sierra Morena District School
David de los Reyes, Design Strategy Advisor
AnelieFranke, Graphic Design Advisor
LilianaDelgado and Maria Elisa Davila, Psychology students in charge of the initial pilot.
Esmeralda Vargas, Jairo Carrillo, Fanny Uribe,Gustavo Mora,
 
And to all the people that have contributed to the development of this project,so
that one day it may  be applied and spread to many communities. Thank you!