Colmeia

Brazil faces alarming data on the incidence of bullying, with a growing number of aggression episodes in educational environments. There is an urgent need to address school violence and its impacts on the development of children and adolescents.

However, existing initiatives and methodologies operate in a fragmented manner, with low integration between education, technology and continuous student engagement. The absence of structured gamified tools limits the reach and effectiveness of these actions. Educators and institutions struggle to keep the topic present in daily school life and to promote consistent behavioural change among victims, aggressors and bystanders. What was missing was a solution that spoke directly to young people’s everyday reality and could transform learning into a practical, meaningful and large-scale experience.

Pencil Games, the University of Brasília (UnB) and the other researchers involved in the project joined forces to build a gamified educational ecosystem designed to raise awareness, provide support and promote learning through interactive experiences.

The solution evolved into an integrated set of tools connecting the digital environment to the physical classroom space, including:

• “Colmeia” digital game: focused on engagement and practical learning;
• Interactive map: for the safe, anonymous collection of bullying incident reports;
• Workshops and school events: to reinforce the message in the physical environment.

The entire solution design was guided by principles of social innovation, usability and information security. Pencil Games played a central role in structuring the experience and translating sensitive content into an accessible and engaging language, appropriate for different age groups and school contexts.