Role-playing games as a tool for youth engagement in territorial governance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61007/QdC.2026.3.464Keywords:
Social innovation, outh empowerment, quadruple helix, role-playing gamesAbstract
Higher education institutions are increasingly expected to contribute to societal and territorial development beyond their traditional roles. This study explores the university’s role as a knowledge mediator in the Galician Rías, coastal ecosystems that are both economically significant and highly vulnerable to climate change. The paper proposes an action-research intervention structured in two stages. First, actors from the quadruple helix (academia, public administration, business, and civil society) collaborate to identify and prioritize key climate risks using Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). Second, these risks are translated into accessible language and used in a participatory workshop with young people aged 14 to 20, based on role-playing dynamics in which participants assume different stakeholder roles and engage in simulated decision-making processes. This approach fosters empathy, climate literacy, and collaborative problem-solving. The findings highlight the university's capacity to act as a facilitator of knowledge exchange and social innovation at the local level.
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