The COVID-19 international information campaign Contest Against Corona is back this April 21st to May 21st. The first contest which was held in December reached 100,000 participants across 54 countries . The contest is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and organized by atingi, a digital learning project by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
The quiz content was developed and verified by Health Focus and GOPA Worldwide Consultants, who offer specialized expertise on healthcare topics.
The contest’s purpose is to give incentives to citizens to acquire accurate information on frequently asked questions on COVID-19 from trustworthy sources by making the process fun. Beyond the simple right-wrong feedback in each question, the game’s educational nature is reinforced by in-game explanations provided when incorrect answers are given.
Starting on April 21st, the gamified multiple-choice quiz can be accessed from any smartphone or desktop browser by simply clicking on the start game button on the Contest Against Corona website. Players can pick an avatar of their choice and play against participants from around the world, scoring points in the process. The game is available in English, Arabic and French.
Contestants can play the topics in the order of their choice and at the pace and intensity that suits their lifestyle, whether that be daily or once every few days. While the high score prize is open until the 21st of May, weekly and daily prizes have clear deadlines every week, which participants can view on the Contest Against Corona website to decide on which date(s) they are aiming for.
Anyone aged 16 and above, located in Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) or South Asia is eligible to win the daily, weekly and high score prizes, including
- Mobile phone credit of 60 Euro (4 winners)
- A 12-month Babbel language course subscription (4 winners)
- Samsung S10s (4 winners)
- Career Coaching sessions (4 winners)
- One 1,500 Euro voucher to select one accredited EdX nanodegree from prestigious universities
multiple HarvardX certified courses, certified by Harvard University.
All participants who earn a certain threshold points score will automatically earn a formal atingi e-learning digital badge for their acquired knowledge on COVID-19. Prizes can be won by scoring sufficient points in the quiz that then allow entry into a daily or weekly lottery and the high score prize. Winners will be announced every Wednesday on the website.
Commenting on the contest, Jan-Gerrit Groeneveld, Project leader at atingi said, “As a facilitator in digital learning and transformation within the education space, our vision was to create a fun platform that would not only teach people about prevention measures and how to protect themselves from being infected with COVID-19, but to do so by capitalizing on the trends for serious gaming, as well as online connections and remote working during the pandemic. The quiz was intended to act as a catalyst in reducing the rate of infections and calling-out fake news, through learned knowledge.”