Inclusion through board games

With our Solidarity project, "Társas társas", we want to bring a positive change in the community of Hungarian and foreign students, which will give them the opportunity to meet each other with the power of board games. The change we envisage would see foreign young people settling in more easily to their new living conditions, while getting to know and make friends with young Hungarians who can make international contacts, practise English and learn about new cultures and make new friends.

What are the objectives of the project?

We want to build a community between Hungarian and foreign students in Budapest.

We want to promote that there is no barrier for Hungarian and foreign students to get to know each other, and that they can take the initiative towards each other through this platform. This is exactly why the board game is suitable, as it can develop creativity, team spirit, communication, and other skills that can be acquired and developed in the context of getting to know each other.

The objectives of the project are to promote the integration of foreigners by allowing them to get to know local young people and, for local students, to broaden their international contacts and overcome their fears of meeting foreigners. This is further helped by the soft skills that can be developed informally through board games, such as the teamwork and communication. It is also an excellent opportunity for Hungarian students to learn and practise foreign languages. It also teaches participants and the organizing team to work as a team across cultures.

What activities do we plan to implement? What is the number and profile of the participants involved?

We organizing a series of events in Budapest, bringing together Hungarian and foreign students: every three weeks organize a board game night with foreign and Hungarian students, so that they can get to know each other better and participate in a programme that is not for one group or the other, but specifically for both, and not treating the two groups separately during these events, but simply as students studying in Hungary.

We would always try different board games during the events, so that it would be exciting for those who come regularly and for the first to go to each programme. We carefully plan the board games to be played before each event so that they are as inclusive experience as possible for everyone, with an emphasis on team-building rather than competition, and that the board games promote non-formal learning for young people.

What results and impact do we expect our project to have?

Overall, we would like to create a more homogeneous university community in our hometown, Budapest, and especially on the Lágymányos campus, where there is no sharp division between Hungarian and foreign students. We hope that our project will have a multiplier effect and that many other programmes will be organised between Hungarian and foreign students.

In the long term, we would like to see a greater number of friendships between Hungarian and foreign students, and we would like to see more inclusive universities, where programmes are not only for Hungarian students or foreign students, but for both sides, for example, overcoming language or cultural barriers. Of course, we know that our project will not generate such a large-scale impact, but we believe that grassroots programmes such as this one can create a basis for more programmes, whether informal or formal, in a university setting.

At the same time, we would also like to see more programme opportunities at universities in Budapest, to which we would like to contribute with our project.

We would also like to develop a community among the participants, fostering a sense of belonging, as some of us are already part of a community and we would like to extend this opportunity to them.

The project is happening in the Fall of 2024. Follow our social media for more information and for the participation!