The Viborg Animation Festival is a true meeting point for education, industry, and the creative sector. This year’s Education/Industry Summit once again brought together leading voices to discuss the role of games in shaping future learning and creative ecosystems. EPIC-WE was proud to take part, both in the discussions and through showcasing our work.
Rikke Toft Nørgård (Aarhus University), project lead of EPIC-WE, participated as a panelist at the summit, contributing insights on the intersections of culture, games, and education. Kim Holflod (Aarhus University), Ditte Brunø Søndergaard (Aarhus University), and Regitze Mai Møller (Filmby Aarhus) added further perspectives in workshops, highlighting the project’s collaborative and experimental approach.
The conversations centered on a key question: How can we strengthen the links between games, learning, and young voices in order to create sustainable and innovative ecosystems?
Several themes emerged strongly:
- Youth empowerment: The recognition that young people’s perspectives must shape — not simply inform — the design of new models for learning and creativity. EPIC-WE’s QH Cultural Hub model, which positions Youth as Empowered Participants, was presented as a concrete example.
- Cross-sector collaboration: A call for more flexible, long-term frameworks where students, educators, and professionals can meet in the middle to innovate together. EPIC-WE has embedded this ethos in its structure, with cooperation across universities, cultural institutions, and industry partners.
- Digital futures: An acknowledgement that AI and emerging technologies are already reshaping education and cultural production, requiring both sectors to adapt creatively and proactively.
Beyond the panels and workshops, EPIC-WE also showcased its cultural game Metamorphosis, developed by Mothworks. Festival participants had the chance to experience the game directly, exploring how gameplay can encourage reflection and dialogue about culture and society.
The atmosphere throughout the summit was forward-looking and collaborative. There was a shared commitment across education, industry, and youth communities to experiment with new approaches and work more closely together.
At EPIC-WE, this commitment is at the heart of our mission: to empower young people across Europe to co-create, learn, and innovate through cultural game jams and cross-sector collaboration.
We thank Viborg Animation Festival for hosting and for creating a space where these vital conversations can take place.
