Game play to address climate change adaptation

SEI researchers developed a terminology card game as part of the Future Resilience for African CiTies and Lands (FRACTAL) project to help stakeholders in southern African cities, specifically Windhoek and Lusaka, overcome barriers in climate change adaptation planning. The game facilitates 'transdisciplinary knowledge integration' by helping participants distinguish between key concepts like weather, climate, adaptation, mitigation, and disaster risk reduction through a collaborative, non-threatening exercise. The activity is designed to build capacities and working relationships between city stakeholders and scientists to increase the uptake of science in policy.

• SEI researchers developed a terminology card game to address gaps in understanding regarding climate change concepts and terminologies among stakeholders in southern African cities. The game is designed to create a "level playing field" of knowledge, which facilitates "transdisciplinary knowledge integration" and supports adaptation decision-making by reducing barriers caused by misunderstood terms such as weather, climate, adaptation, mitigation, sustainable development, and disaster risk reduction.
• The game was refined through partners in Windhoek, Namibia, and Lusaka, Zambia, as a core part of "Learning Labs." These interactive sessions aim to foster two-way learning: providing city stakeholders with a better understanding of climate change and its impacts, while helping scientists and climate information producers understand the socioeconomic, financial, and political challenges involved in policy and planning decisions.
• The activity is structured as a 30-40 minute exercise where participants cooperatively categorize written statements or actions (e.g., "Today it is raining" or "rainwater harvesting") under concept cards such as weather, climate, adaptation, mitigation, development, and disaster risk reduction. The process involves initial participant discussion, facilitator-led explanations of definitions, and a subsequent rearrangement of cards based on new information to encourage reflection and learning.
• The development of this specific activity was prompted by a direct request from stakeholders in Windhoek who were working to co-develop the city's first Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan and had encountered misunderstandings regarding climate-related terms.
• The guides for the game are published by the University of Cape Town and are part of a larger four-year project called Future Resilience for African CiTies and Lands (FRACTAL), which is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the UK Department for International Development.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2020). Game play to address climate change adaptation. https://www.sei.org/publications/game-play-to-address-climate-change-adaptation/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Game play to address climate change adaptation. 2020. https://www.sei.org/publications/game-play-to-address-climate-change-adaptation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Game play to address climate change adaptation |date=28 January 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/game-play-to-address-climate-change-adaptation/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2020game, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Game play to address climate change adaptation}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/game-play-to-address-climate-change-adaptation/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }