The European Union Parliament has just announced the beta release of a new virtual world called, "Citzalia," a civic engagement effort to help EU citizens understand and participate in the EU government.
Using your avatar you can walk around, interact, network, debate the issues of today, propose legislation, vote and learn about how the European Parliament works for citizens. You can be a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), a journalist, a student or any role you want to create.I'm glad ideas like this are continuing to be explored. I continue to believe that the definition of "fun" is relative. One person's bureaucracy is another's preferred form of entertainment.
Others will be able to vote on the quality of your proposals and you will be able to vote on theirs. By earning experience points you will be able move up to new expert levels in Citzalia.
Current Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and European officials will be on hand to guide you through the procedures and provide background information.
Why Citzalia?
Citzalia is a means of understanding how the EU’s democratically elected Parliament works. By participating in debates on issues the European Parliament is currently discussing you will gain insight and expertise into how democracy works in the EU. It is an opportunity to hear how other fellow citizens feel about current issues and about the role of the European Parliament. It is also a platform for debate and discussion of the issues which have been, are or can be addressed by the European Parliament.
Though it is described as a "Second-Life style" virtual world by some, it looks, from the screenshot above, more like a Habbo Hotel or an 8-bit world. Regardless of the graphics, the challenge will be to make this interesting to the people. Using game mechanics (earning experience points for voting, etc) is one approach. I'll be interested to see how it evolves.
[Beta Release of Citzalia]
[Parliament to launch Second Life-style online assembly]
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