In the News

• Pages: 35-36

p. 35WIPO | MAGAZINE

IN THE NEWS

everywhere to contri bute their unique perspectives, openin g the

way for a better understanding of th e root causes of poverty.

“Games are powerful tools for b reaking through the limits of our

thinking. They use competiti on to build cooperation and, as

games spread across the Inter net, they provide a great platform

for linking ideas around the wor ld for a common purpose”, noted

Jane McGonigal, Chief Cre ative Ofcer at SuperBet ter Labs

and designer of the IF TF Catalysts for Change gaming platform.

Catalysts for Change leverages simple 140-character mes-

sages in a game of play cards. Eac h card captures an idea,

and participants bui ld on one another’s ideas, starting a chain

reaction of innovations and solutio ns. Ideas generated during

the trial will be featured in an o nline game on an interactive map

that already offers over 60 0 examples of innovative approaches

to challenges that poor com munities around the world face.

FIR ST PHILI PPIN E

TRADITIONAL TEXTILE

GALLERY

In late March, the National Museum of the Phi lippines opened

the nation’s rst gallery for indigeno us Philippine textiles, ac-

cording to a report from the Th ai News Service. The Hibla ng

Lahing Filipino (Traditional Philippine Textile Gallery) brings

together fabrics (as well as weaving a pparatus) including the

Abel Iloko from Vigan, Ting uian blanket from Abra, Gaddang

garments from Ifugao, textiles f rom Polomok, South Cotabato

and Maranao, and garments f rom Southern Mindanao. In

his remarks at the galler y’s opening, Senator Loren Legarda,

Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communi-

ties, said that the galler y tells the story of the diverse cultur al

traditions that connect Fili pinos and which reveal the country’s

national identity.

ONLINE GA ME

SEEK S TO

ALLEVIATE

POV ERTY

On April 3 and 4, The Rockefelle r Foun-

dation and the Institute for the Future

(IFTF) joined forces with people across

the world asking them to help solve g lobal

poverty through an interac tive online

game. Dubbed Catalysts for Change, the

game (available at www.cataly ze4change.

org) seeks to generate ideas for trigge r-

ing innovations that will enable m illions

of people to nd their way out of povert y.

Over 1.2 billion people around the world

are still living in extreme p overty. “The

public, private and social sector s have

worked to tackle poverty, vulnerab ility and

exclusion for years”, said Dr. Judith Rodin,

president of the Rockefeller Foundation.

“While the lives of countle ss people and

communities have been tran sformed as a

result, the persistent level of pover ty and

vulnerability th at remains requires new

and innovative thinking. Using technol-

ogy to engage a new set of actors from

all over the world will provide uniq ue

perspectives, allowin g us to identify new

ways to solve problems and address

poverty at its root cause s that will make

a signicant diffe rence to those living in

poor or vulnerable communities”.

The initiative tests a new way of solving

global problems and developing solutions.

Using cutting-edge gaming principles and

collaboration techniques, Catalysts for

Change creates an opportunity for people

Photo: National Museum Textile Gallery

Legogong

Backstra p loom South Cotabato/ T ’boli

Senator Loren Le garda Collect ion