Reality Check — Europe’s First Educational App Against Racism

By +SocialGood Connector Lovisa Fhager Havdelin

Racism is a crucial issue within society. Recent figures from the SOM Institute in Gothenburg would suggest that it is more important than ever to discuss racist ideologies within schools. The figures show that 45% of Sweden’s population worries about the increasing xenophobia within society, while 37% find the number refugees applying for asylum in Sweden worrying. Young people and children are not immune to these figures, which is why it is so important not only to highlight and counteract discrimination, but also to encourage discussions about respect, human rights, and diversity.

In February Sweden’s first educational app against racism, Reality Check, was released. The app aims to touch on the racism many teenagers are facing on a daily basis. Reality Check is a collaborative project between The Order of the Teaspoon (Teskedsorden)*, The Multicultural Centre and Anna Lindh’s Foundation’s Swedish network. It is a gaming app representing everyday life. Students will, through a character of their choice, be exposed to everyday situations including everyday racism. The game is interactive and the player will have the ability to choose how to act in certain situations as well as explore the consequences of each action.

The content is based on data from focus groups and the scenes and examples used are all based on real life events. Special attention has also been paid to make the app as authentic as possible to assure that students in Sweden can relate to its content and the language used. The app is aimed foremost towards 13–19 year old students, but will hopefully suit both younger and older people too.

Since the majority of students within this age group in Sweden have access to a smart phone, it is believed that this project will be easily implemented within Swedish schools. Reality Check illustrates a great example of how educational technology can be used to enable a discussion about everyday racism as well as engaging both students and teachers in the discussion of broader topics such as diversity and tolerance. Historical facts about Sweden’s racist history are also included.

The aim of this project has been to create an app which young people will both enjoy and reflect on. It will hopefully work as a toolbox of advice on what one can do when affected by racism and what to do when someone else is affected. It is important to remember that racism remains a structural problem within society. The hope is that Reality Check will enable thoughtful and reflective discussions, something which is closely related to what is stated in the Swedish curriculum: ‘intolerance must be addressed with knowledge, open discussion and active efforts’ (2011).

Tolerance and respect are the cornerstones of our democracy, yet never to be taken for granted, which is why it is so important that we work together on this. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

The app was released on February the 19th together with a handbook for teachers. You can find the app in App Store and in Google Play (Sweden).

It can be downloaded on App Store here.
It can be downloaded on Google Play here.

*The Order of the Teaspoon is an organization working to promote dialogue and discussion to tackle issues such as racism and injustice.