Imagine being able to play online games without anyone being hindered by the fact that the other person is possibly blind. And the games were created by blind children… That’s what we do at the non-profit company SciFY – Science For You with Memory Online!

As a result of the work we have done in recent years at SciFY, the children at the Kallithea Special Elementary School for the Blind and at KEAT are already developing their own games with the help of their teachers. In fact, with the support of the Ioannis S. Latsis Foundation , they can now play them online without restrictions!

Already, the first pilot tournament between sighted and blind children was successfully completed and the impressions were excellent!

Blind children create games!

At SciFY, for three years, we have been creating free educational electronic games for blind and sighted children (inclusive games). The games (www.gamesfortheblind.org) are utilized by children as well as organizations in Greece and abroad. The downloads have exceeded 11,000, and the number is constantly increasing!

The next step was the Memor-i studio platform on which anyone can easily create memory games. Already, educators, as well as the children of KEAT and the Special Elementary School for the Blind Kallithea, have developed many of their own games, which help them develop skills and, of course, learn while having fun!

Online gaming now accessible to everyone!
This time, we’ve gone several steps further: We’ve made it possible for kids to play against the computer as well as against other players online. Once loss of sight or impaired vision are no longer obstacles to playing, children play with other players, not knowing (or caring) whether the opponent is blind or sighted!

In fact, on Thursday, November 9th, Memor-i Online was tested in real conditions. The children of the School in Kallithea played with children of the 3rd Nursery School of Byron in an atmosphere overflowing with enthusiasm!

Once the project is completed at the end of November, any new game created in Memor-i studio will be available for playing both against the computer and online!

Next steps
We are already in close contact with special educators and children, and we are planning the next games and steps. At the same time, we’re studying the possibilities and limitations of inclusive online gaming, participating in workshops and educational events, and freely sharing the knowledge we have gained from the creative journey so far, which continues…

You can find out more about the Memor-i Online project here or try SciFY’s free online games for blind children here.
Finally, you can play 20+ educational variations of the Memor-i game or create your own educational game and share it freely with one click at http://memoristudio.scify.org/

More information:
Vassilis Giannakopoulos, vgia@scify.org, +30 211 400 4192, +30 697 205 8648
Vassilis Sapalatas, vsala@sciy.org, +30 697 491 3877