This year, representatives from the Inclusive Gamelab research project, Nina Kiel, Jürgen Sleegers, and Su-Jin Song, attended the PLAY Festival in Hamburg to host a workshop titled “Barrierefreies Gaming – Digitales Spielen Ermöglichen” (Accessible Gaming – Enabling Digital Play).

The workshop explored the barriers many people still face in the gaming world, especially individuals with disabilities. Alongside their presentation, the team, joined by Torben Rieckmann from neurodactics GmbH, provided practical insights into how these obstacles can be overcome. The session highlighted not only best practices for inclusive game development but also how digital games can be used for media education to promote participation and inclusion.

In addition to their workshop, CGL’s Su-Jin Song served as a jury member for the Most Creative Game Award, part of the prestigious Creative Gaming Awards. These awards, which have been given out since 2016, honor games and media projects that foster creative freedom for players, allowing them to shape and influence the game in innovative ways.

It was an honor for the Inclusive Gamelab team to contribute to such an important conversation on accessible gaming and to be involved in recognizing the creative potential of global game projects.