We have been commissioned to develop an online platform for Aflatoun, a Dutch NGO, which gives children from all over the world an understanding of their rights and money. We were chosen out of several international vendors.

In the tendering process ovos convinced Aflatoun with design and technical competence and our proprietary Gamification-Engine which allows Aflatoun to add its content. This will be based on the youth focused Aflateen curriculum, a programme done in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.

The Aflatoun name comes from a mischievous, fun and comedic character from Indian Bollywood-movies. It’s also the Arabic name of the Greek philosopher Plato, who formulated the ideal of the free citizen. Today, Aflatoun represents a programm originated in Mumbai in 1991 that aims at facilitating children important skills for a elements for a better life. This includes knowledge of children's rights as well as understanding of money.

Playfully to more self determination

Since 2005, Aflatoun has been headquartered in Amsterdam and coordinates programmes with 140 partners from 94 countries. Aflatoun has the ambitious goal to reach 10 million children by 2015. Playful knowledge transfer via online channels will be very important in doing so: “With ovos we found a partner that knows how to design and deliver a complex gaming project and engage with the material as well”, states Hidde van der Veer, Aflatoun’s Director. And he adds: “That is important when it comes to teaching youth key life skills in a way that engages them”.

Technology for international social concerns

In the next months we will develop an online-application that allows to experience the paper based content in a playful way. The ovos Gamification-Engine provides the basis for that. With this self-developed and well-tested software, Aflatoun is able to extend the game by new tasks and language versions. At the moment the system contains different types of task like research or simple right/wrong tasks. Resolving tasks awards the player with points and special tasks award badges for achievements, which will be shown in the personal profile of the player and are used as an additional encouragement. The platform will be implemented and online in summer 2013.

I was invited to the event Playground TTNL in Leeuwarden in the North of Holland. It took place on Thursday, 29 November 2012. I was invited as a keynote speaker on the topic of serious gaming.

Find the Blog entry to the event here, there also is a great Photo gallery of the event. I enjoyed it a lot and hope to be back soon!

We are happy to announce, that Ludwig won the austrian Futurezone Award in the category Best Game 2012! 

We would like to thank all fans for voting! You rule! Thank you so much!

Watch the video of the award ceremony:

We are so looking forward to it: today's our last work day ... in our old office.

Yes, it's true: ovos is moving, from the 4th to the 7th district of Vienna.

So now it's time to look back: We moved to the office six years ago, in 2006. But before we were able to start our work, the whole office had needed a "relaunch".

That's our office, after the dust was gone. A nice, green office ...

... back then. But we have grown bigger and bigger und therefore our office became smaller and smaller. (Photograph taken on July 19 2012)

So now we are packing our stuff (our monitors, PCs, notebooks, folders, our venitlators, headphones and chairs) and will start working in our new office very soon.

From Monday, July 23, on, you will find us under this adress:

ovos Gmbh
Schottenfeldgasse 60/36-38 
1070 Wien

After winning the "German Developer Award 2011" we are still deeply impressed by the upcoming events: Ludwig and ovos got nominated for the "learning without frontiers"-Award.

learning without frontiers, a global platform (the headquarter is in London), nominates us in the category "Secondary Innovation" and we would be deeply honored to win the award on January 26th. But for that, we need your vote!

Please vote here until January 21th and share the link on your favored social networks. Thanks!

On October 22th, 2011 the second TEDxVienna took place. Next to well-known Austrian Journalists like Robert Misik, Corinna Millborn or the foreign correspondent Karim El-Gawhary and social or political activists like Niko Alm, Albin Kurti, Bernhard Drumel or Leyla Tavernaro-Haidarian also people from the creative business were invited to speak on the TEDx-stage. Also Joerg spoke 15 minutes about Ludwig and the idea behind Serious and Educational Games.

Have you met TED?

25 years ago the first TED-conference took place ... a legendary idea was born. Die greatest thinker and outrider of our time (as the TED-website says) get invited to talk about their ideas and concerns ... for 18 minutes at most. Those talks get filmed and will be published online on TED.com and can be shared through all the social networks. The slogan of TED: Ideas worth spreading.

learn to play

Here's a video of Joergs talk ... we hope you like it!