On March 6th and 10th, the UChange follow-up training took place online as part of the first School on Participatory Democracy in Greece, held in Athens. Representatives from universities, the national parliamentary assembly and public institutions came together under the guidance of a Council of Europe expert to contextualize and implement the UChange game – one of the Council of Europe’s participatory democracy tools – to the Greek context.

During the two-day training, participants not only learned how to play the online UChange game but also engaged in discussions on key challenges and solutions related to translation and contextualization. They explored strategies for identifying target groups, selecting suitable venues, and enhancing participant engagement.

Additionally, the participants together with the international expert began developing an initial framework for the Greek UChange Guidelines in collaboration with Greek experts, among other from the American College of Greece. This framework outlines the implementation of UChange at local, regional, and national levels.

The training was enriched by insights from good practices in Georgia, Ukraine, and Türkiye, helping participants refine their approaches. Throughout the sessions, discussions focused on key elements of the UChange preparation process, including needs assessment, choosing the playing field, defining game tasks, compiling a list of applicants, and selecting players.

Following this contextualization phase, a mentorship session will be organized in April to further support Greek partners in the practical use and roll out of the UChange methodology in Greek organisations, schools and municipalities.