In Faro, Portugal, 48 participants—students, teachers, citizens & policymakers—joined the MC-YOU Agora activity to shape urban spaces!
Through exhibitions, Minecraft, & the Ideas Box, youth shared 45+ ideas for a better city.
Top spots like Praça de Tânger were chosen via Dotmocracy!
In today’s world, where societies are becoming more complex and divided, authentic and inclusive dialogue has never been more essential. To address this challenge, the MC-YOU Partnership is excited to introduce MC-Agora, a unique participatory model that encourages citizens to come together, discuss important issues, and make collective decisions about public matters. This innovative approach is currently being piloted in three cities: Riga, Faro, and Sandanski. So, what exactly is MC-Agora? At its core, it’s a collective effort to create a gathering place, an assembly where citizens can meet to engage in meaningful discussions, share their opinions, and contribute to decision-making processes. The strenght of the MC-Agora model lies in its inclusivity – every voice is heard, and every opinion is valued. It’s not about top-down decision-making, but about empowering communities to actively participate in shaping the policies that affect their lives. One of the key elements that make MC-Agora so effective is its use of Minecraft. While most people associate Minecraft with gaming, it’s actually an ideal platform for building collective spaces. On Minecraft, players can collaborate to design environments, providing a dynamic and interactive way for citizens to give feedback and suggest improvements. It’s a creative and fun way to bring people together, where each participant can contribute ideas to create a space that reflects their collective vision. But it’s not just about building virtual spaces – it’s about building real-world connections. By adopting an Agora-style approach, public authorities and institutions can foster a culture of engagement and rebuild trust with their communities. This approach helps bridge the gap between the government and the people, ensuring that everyone has a voice in shaping the policies that affect them. The MC-Agora methodology also works to strengthen social cohesion. It enables citizens to collaborate, empowering them to be part of the process that influences the policies and decisions that directly impact their lives. It’s a powerful tool for creating inclusive governance where no one is left behind. The success of MC-Agora depends on a clear, structured approach. Here’s how the process works: 1. Purpose and Planning: Before anything can be organized, it’s essential to define the purpose of the Agora. Is it aimed at consulting citizens about a specific issue? Is it about gathering input for a policy decision? Or perhaps it’s simply about fostering dialogue around a community-wide challenge? 2. Inclusive Invitation Process: It’s vital that participation in the Agora is inclusive, representing the full diversity of the community. The goal is to ensure that all voices are heard, no matter their background or experience. 3. Establishing Rules of Engagement: To create a constructive and respectful environment, clear rules of engagement need to be established. These rules should promote active listening, equal speaking opportunities, and avoid personal attacks or inflammatory language. MC-Agora is more than just a model – it’s a movement toward a more engaged, more connected society. By incorporating this approach, we can create communities where everyone has the opportunity to make their voice heard and where decisions are shaped by the collective will of the people. In the end, it’s all about fostering genuine connections and ensuring that every citizen has a seat at the table. Because when we all have a say, we can shape a future that works for everyone. CESIE |
With a clear structure in place, the next stage was content development. This was a complex process that required synthesising research, incorporating best practices, and ensuring the content remained practical.
Gathering and Organising Information
Content development started with gathering data from various sources:
Once we had all this material, the challenge was translating theory into action—making the content practical, engaging, and easy to apply.
Writing for Clarity and Impact
One of the biggest hurdles in toolkit writing is striking a balance between depth and simplicity. We focused on making the content:
Incorporating Case Studies and Best Practices
Real-world examples were a crucial part of the toolkit. We selected case studies from various European cities to illustrate key concepts, ensuring diversity in location, scale, and approach. These case studies served as inspiration, showing users how resilience strategies had been successfully implemented elsewhere.
With the content developed, the next phase will focus on testing and refining the toolkit based on user feedback. This will involve pilot implementations and gathering insights from those who use it in real-world contexts. Once this stage is completed, we’ll finalise the design and dissemination strategy.
Stay tuned for Part 4, where we’ll explore how we tested, adjusted, and prepared the toolkit for broader use!
YEPP
Once the purpose and objectives were defined, the next challenge was designing the structure. Our goal was to create a logical, easy-to-navigate format that guided users through the process of understanding resilience and applying the strategies in their own cities. Also, it would have to keep a good balance between flexibility and firmness in terms of the time plan and methods to implement in the workshops.
Building the Framework
We started by mapping out key content areas and asking ourselves:
Through multiple iterations and discussions, we settled on five core sections:
This structure ensured a balance between background knowledge, practical guidance, and hands-on tools.
Creating a User-Friendly Experience
A toolkit is only useful if people can actually engage with it. To make the Resilient Cities Toolkit accessible and practical, we prioritised:
YEPP
Why Create a Toolkit?
With the Resilient Cities Toolkits, the goal was to provide city officials, young people, and community organisers with the tools to co-create solutions for urban resilience. However, before jumping into writing, we had to ask: Does a toolkit already exist for this purpose? Is a new one necessary? If so, what exactly should it provide?
The need for the toolkit emerges from the MC YOU project, which works on strengthening youth participation in urban resilience. Across different European cities, young people often face barriers when trying to engage in decision-making processes. City officials, on the other hand, sometimes struggle to integrate youth perspectives into urban resilience strategies. For the project’s workshops, interviews, and engagement with municipalities, we realised that existing resources either focused only on resilience theory or on general participation guidelines—but none directly addressed how young people and city officials could collaborate effectively to build resilient cities.
Defining the Need
To define the need for this toolkit, we conducted a needs assessment with two main groups:
Through discussions, surveys, and workshops, some key challenges became clear:
Based on these insights, we decided that the toolkit should be a hands-on, action-oriented resource that helps young people and city officials work together to develop local resilience initiatives.
Setting Clear Objectives
Once the need was defined, we focused on the objectives. Instead of creating a theoretical guide, we wanted a practical toolkit with actionable steps. Through several brainstorming sessions with project partners and target users, we shaped the following core objectives:
Having these objectives from the start helped shape every decision in the toolkit’s development, ensuring it remained practical and user-driven.
YEPP
In November and December, more than 70 children from 10 Riga educational institutions participated in workshops on sustainable, resilient, circular and inclusive cities organized by the Riga City Municipality City Development Department and the Education, Culture and Sports Department!
The workshops took place within the framework of the MC-YOU project. Working in groups and discussing together, children, as well as teachers, learned about various topics relevant to better urban development – who and why plans cities, what is sustainability, resilience (adaptability), circularity, and “cities for people”, why the involvement of residents and children is important, what gamification and 15-minute cities are, etc.
All the topics covered are related to the priorities set in the MC-YOU project and will be useful for the children themselves, as they envision different places in Riga on the Minecraft Education platform as part of the project. The children are already getting to know these publicly accessible places, studying their history and meeting in the above-mentioned workshops to better prepare for the production of their vision. In January and February, each team will also meet with various representatives of the municipality, residents and professionals in “agoras” or public consultations-discussions, thus getting to know even better what Riga residents would like to see in these places; also what, for example, is restricted by various construction guidelines.
By the end of March, each of the 16 teams will have to submit their original vision for these places in Riga, taking into account everything that has been heard and discussed previously. Then, in April, each vision will be anonymously evaluated by both the jury and residents that will be able to vote for them.
“Within this project, we want to cement the feeling that we are interested in children’s ideas and needs,” says Mārtiņš Eņģelis, a project expert from Riga City Development Department. “In such projects, children are most often remote consultants, and their participation is limited to recreating ordinary places on the Minecraft Education platform or creating impractical visions. Within the framework of MC-YOU, we want to teach children from the very beginning that they have the right to be participants in the development of places in Riga, but it should be noted that this partnership is also based on various external conditions, for example, listening to local needs, taking into account the principles of sustainable cities (better materials, more environmentally friendly and climate-resilient solutions, etc.) or following urban development guidelines (for example, UNESCO regulations or underground communications). As a result, children are ready to offer visions that are more difficult for municipalities to refuse, and children can “get their foot in the door” for the urban development they want.”
The project lasts two years – from November 2023 to November 2025. The total cost of the project in Riga is 48,675 euros (Riga City Municipality co-financing 10%). The lead partner of the project is the European network Out of the Box International (Poland). Other project partners are the Municipality of Faro (Portugal), the Municipality of Sandanski (Bulgaria), the organization INA EUROPE (France); the non-governmental organization CESIE Palermo (Italy), the Union of Baltic Cities (UBC) and SIA LINK DMT SRL, Modena (Italy).
Municipality of Riga
In November and December 2024, Faro MC-YOU young multipliers undertook a set of 3 training sessions from the ”Method Box” of the Project ”Resilient Cities” Toolkit: 1) Resilient Cities, 2) Knowing my City, and 3) Minecraft and Defining Project Objectives.
This article briefly presents the main highlights and ouctomes of the experience of application of Session 1) Resilient Cities in Faro, with a special focus on the non-formal education methods used.
Session 1 – Resilient Cities
From breaking the ice, to learning about and exploring the project topics, while having fun!
Icebreaking: Bingo!
A thematic breaking ice game is an effective and fun way to kick-start sessions involving young people (and not only!). In fact, games can serve as an engaging introduction to the session topics, while also giving facilitators valuable information about the participants (e.g., their names, previous awareness and knowledge about the topics, etc.). A twist of the traditional Bingo game, with cards containing different questions, encourage participants to think, interact, share, and learn as they play, and is an excellent way to start a session.
The Bingo Game in Faro included a variety of questions regarding sustainability and resilience habits, and other project related topics (e.g., youth participation, minecraft) that were adopted to the group profile and context: ”Has participated in a Cleanup Action”, ”Reduces water consumption or reuses water”, ”Rides a bicycle”, ”Has participated in the School’s Participatory Budget”, ”Plays Minecraft”, etc.
When everyone was ready, the prompt was given – ”Find someone in this room that”… – and everyone rushed! By the end of the game, participants were energized, and initial presentations were made, connected to a variety of reflections and personal experiences regarding the project topics (Maria reuses water, António rides a bycicle, Carolina plays Minecraft, etc.).
Getting to know the project – from global to local
Participants were invited to follow a slideshow and describe what they saw: From Planet Earth…, to Europe…, to Portugal…, to the Algarve Region…, to Faro City…, to their School!! Their enthusiasm, pointing to the images, was contagious! After all, the themes of the MC-YOU Project concern all of our Planet, the project consortium is formed by 8 European Organizations, involving 3 Pilot-Cities, incluiding their own – Faro – and their School; and with the use of images, and other tactics, participants themselves can work together with the facilitators in understanding and explaining the project, and working towards making it their own.
In fact, although this is a very small example, actively engaging and inviting THE Participants to really participate, even in the most informative and ”knowledge transfer” parts of the process, is essencial in a project like MC-YOU where youth participation is not only important, but foundational.
Learning about and exploring the project topics
When explaining conceps, such as Sustainability and Resilience, or others, is important that participants not only ”get to know them”, but really understand them and explore them. Resourses that they may be familiar with already, like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), for example, and the inicial reflection and presentation of the definitions of the concepts is important, but is just the beggining.
In small groups, the Faro participants were invited to explore and map environmental aspects and social aspects of their own school – a setting that they are already familiar with, but now being invited to seeing it with the lens of Sustainability and Resilience.
Are there trees in the school? Where? Is the soil paved or permeable? Are practices like composting being used? And solar panels? Is there a bycicle parking? And in terms of acessibility? Is the place acessible for all? Yes? No? What could be improved? What materials are being used? How is the social life of the outdoor place – from doing sports, to chitchatting? And in terms of thermic comfort – are there enough shadows and trees for the Faro hot summer days?
With this activity youngsters were able to recognize, reflect and map different aspects of their own school, and started looking at the places surrounding them with new eyes!
Currenlty, this work is part of the School exhibition that opened the Faro Agora and Consultation phase of the project.
Before closing – Everyone needs feedback
The perception of facilitators, while important, can also be misleading. Was the session sucessful? Was it enjoyable and useful for the participants? For facilitators, the participants feedback is fundamental to evaluate the session and improve future ones; and for the young participants is fundamental that they, indeed, participate and express their opinion since session 1, working towards Laura Lundy’s model of participation (space, voice, audience, influence).
Feedback received – Faro participants stated that what they liked the most in the session was the ”Bingo”, ”drawing”, ”the theme”, ”the challenges”, ”searching for things in the school”, ”understanding the school’s architecture”, ”the teamwork outside the classroom (in the open air)” with some describing it like a ”unique” and ”fun experience”. Regarding what they liked the least and suggestions for improvement, some expressed the expectation of starting using Minecraft (”start with Minecraft right away”, ”play Minecraft earlier”, ”play Minecraft as early as possible”) and gave some suggestions regarding tools – ”Kahoot”, ”Fornite”. A feeback of ”I didn’t like the project with paper and stuff” reminds us that all participants are different, and that not everyone enjoys the same activities and methods.
Municipality of Faro
MC-YOU project, which aims to empower young people to take an active role in designing and creating the cities of the future by leveraging the creative and educational potential of Minecraft but also to raise awareness among young people about the importance of sustainability and modernity in urban planning and development.
On 14-15 November 2024 the project partners meeting was held in the city of Sandanski, Bulgaria.
The project partners presented the current state of their contributions.
The partners from the cities of Riga, Sandanski, Bulgaria and Faro in Portugal shared their experiences about the implementation of the project, the trainings at schools, in which 75 pupils took part.
There was also a discussion over the document prepared by CESIE on the MC Agora methodology.
UBC reported on the creation of the two social media accounts, one on Facebook, which is dedicated to policy makers and the second one on Reddit, which is directed to the young users. The updates in the dissemination plan were discussed. The project website was presented.
Youth involvement in city planning is no longer a distant ideal—it’s happening now in creative and unprecedented ways. More than just residents, young people are increasingly viewed as key players in shaping the future of their cities. The European Youth Goals highlight the importance of empowering young people to actively participate in decision-making processes, particularly in designing youth-friendly urban spaces.
But how do we engage youth in ways that resonate with them? Enter Minecraft—a digital tool that has become more than just a game. With its versatile design environment, Minecraft is being used by cities to foster youth participation in urban planning. Through this platform, young people can envision and build public spaces that reflect their own ideas and aspirations for the future.
The idea behind Minecraft for Resilience is simple yet transformative: by giving young people a virtual platform to express their ideas, cities are offering them a tangible way to influence real-world change. The MC-YOU Project taps into this concept, allowing young people to step into the role of “MCs”—the emcees of their communities—giving them a voice in urban development processes.
Scientific studies on gamification and policy engagement show that interactive platforms like Minecraft foster meaningful participation. The immersive and creative nature of the game enables young people to better understand the complexities of urban planning, while also equipping them with the tools to propose sustainable solutions. In this way, youth are not merely participating—they are leading.
The MC-YOU Project seeks to capitalize on the popularity of Minecraft, which boasts around 170 million monthly users, to engage young people in shaping their cities. Through structured workshops, interactive sessions, and peer exchanges, the project brings together young citizens, urban planners, and policymakers to collaboratively design resilient urban spaces.
The process is grounded in five key phases:
Analyse & Commit: Participants explore how Minecraft has been successfully used in youth engagement across several case studies. The engagement activities gather practitioners, policymakers, and young people to learn, exchange and brainstorm on ways to strengthen youth participation in resilient city planning.
Educate & Empower: Young people are trained as MC Multipliers, gaining the skills to further engage their peers and local communities. By the end of this phase, the project will have trained multiple young people who will then form Minecraft teams across piloting cities.
Consult & Develop: Using the Agora Methodology, the project creates spaces for public consultations, where youth present their ideas and receive feedback. They then refine their proposals through Minecraft workshops, repurposing urban spaces dedicated by the municipalities based on the results gathered from the consultation process with the citizens.
Advocate & Sustain: Advocacy efforts involve holding public hearings where youth present their final urban projects, developed through Minecraft, to city policymakers. The project will produce policy recommendations to ensure that these youth-driven initiatives become part of long-term urban planning strategies.
Celebrate & Multiply: The final phase includes awards ceremonies and sustainability conferences to promote the ongoing success of the MC-YOU model across other cities and regions.
With the first cities of Riga, Faro and Sandanski joining to pilot the MC-YOU model, the results are beginning to speak for themselves. By blending traditional policymaking with innovative, youth-driven approaches like Minecraft, cities will be able to foster resilience and sustainability while building trust between generations. The model offers new perspectives on how young people can be active participants in shaping policy, instead of remaining as passive beneficiaries.
Initial results from the MC-YOU Project are promising. The collaborative design process between youth, educators, and city officials is leading to more vibrant, inclusive, and resilient urban spaces. The next phase of the project aims to gather comprehensive data on the long-term impacts of these youth-driven initiatives, which will be shared in upcoming publications.
Minecraft has become the best selling videogame of all time. But how? Minecraft is called a „Sandbox game”, meaning that it has no set goal: the ultimate goal of the video game is to enhance creativity. The innovative dynamic of the application is what makes it unique and revolutionary, allowing such deep layers of complexity to the game.
That’s the reason that brought Italian schools to embrace the gamified approach, via Minecraft Education, within their educational programme, almost a decade ago. The most relevant progress in this direction is fairly recent. Didacta (the Italian fair dedicated to schooling) represented a huge turning point because Indire – National Institute for Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research – and Giunti Scuola, in collaboration with Microsoft Italy have presented the book “A scuola con Minecraft. Designing a world in cubes”, on the 19th March 2021, written by Andrea Benassi. The author gives the best reason of why Minecraft represented a huge shift from traditional learning: „Using Minecraft, students didn’t answer questions as they used to do during an examination, but rather explaining problems and proposing solutions.”
The production of this book was crucial to share Mineclass, an experiment conceived in 2018 by Indire together with Microsoft Italy to launch a training program for teachers so they could integrate the use of Minecraft into traditional educational programs. Therefore, it is imporant to notice that the demand for digital training for teachers started with students.
But the digital divide that separates Italy from other European countries cannot be ignored. Francesco Del Sole, Director of Education at Microsoft Italy , told Tecnica della Scuola that: “New technological trends such as Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and the Cloud open up infinite opportunities in all sectors of the market and in our everyday lives, but to truly reap the benefits, having the right skills becomes crucial. Unfortunately, Italy is one of the countries with the strongest skills mismatch, or the gap between the skills required by the job market and those actually available. It is our will to proceed alongside the MIUR to contribute in a concrete way to a School that allows the development of new learning methods, broadening horizons and offering students the opportunity to acquire those skills that make them competitive professionals in the global market and able to help our country grow”.
