At Erase Indifference, we believe that some of the most powerful lessons come not from being told what to think, but from experiencing situations that encourage reflection and dialogue. That is exactly what we discovered while playing Insignia, one of the projects supported through the Erase Indifference Challenge 2023.
Created by Smilemundo, a Barcelona-based NGO founded by social innovator Aleksandra Zemke, Insignia is a gamified learning experience that explores communication, cooperation, and group dynamics through interactive play. Participants work together to create a shared symbol, reconstruct the story of a fractured community, and imagine its future. Along the way, the game reveals how exclusion can emerge within groups and how indifference often shapes social interactions in subtle but powerful ways.
We recently had the opportunity to see the project in action for the first time. A special thank you to Aleksandra Zemke, who traveled from Spain to facilitate the session and guide us through the experience.
We are also grateful to all participants for their openness, engagement, reflections, and thoughtful feedback. The discussions that followed the game demonstrated how experiential learning can spark meaningful conversations about belonging, exclusion, and personal responsibility.
Projects like Insignia remind us why the Erase Indifference Challenge exists: to support innovative projects that help people better understand the mechanisms of discrimination and inspire them to move from awareness to action.
After experiencing the game ourselves, we are more convinced than ever of its potential to foster empathy, encourage dialogue, and create lasting social impact.