There is a quiet but bold revolution in how Ghana and Africa can champion and fast-track climate actions that protect and restore the environment through fun games, where climate education is not a dry classroom lesson but an experience young people can laugh through, learn from, and act on.
Thanks to Eco Games Foundation, led by Ghanaian innovator, Amanda Kporwofa, Africa and Ghana’s first climate-focused mobile and board game, named ATi, has officially been launched.
At the official launch with The High Street Journal as a media partner, the excitement in the room showed just how eager many young Ghanaians are for fresh, practical ways to understand and fight environmental challenges.
ATi is arguably the first of its kind in Ghana and Africa. It is both a mobile and board game that turns heavy issues like deforestation, illegal mining, pollution, and climate change into simple, relatable, interactive adventures. Developed by the Eco Games Foundation, the game blends fun and learning in a way that finally makes environmental awareness feel accessible to children, teenagers, and adults alike.
Learning Climate Action Through Play
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In her statement on behalf of the leadership and board at the launch, the Communications and Communities Specialist of the Eco Games Foundation, Eugenia Teiko Narh, reminded the audience, made up of basic school pupils, teachers, and administration of the school, that learning about critical issues such as climate change can also start with play.
She recounted that for years, climate education has remained abstract or overly technical, but ATi flips that script by teaching the environment through everyday experiences. Players learn how illegal logging affects rainfall, how clean cooking protects the air we breathe, and why shade-grown cocoa matters for farmers.
ATi brings these issues to life in a colourful world filled with local names, familiar forests, community stories, and typical Ghanaian farming scenes. This local touch makes the game feel less like a school subject and more like a story that reflects our own lives.
“We realized that across Africa, millions of young people and adults care deeply about the environment but often lack engaging, accessible ways to understand the issues and take action. Eco Games Foundation was born to bridge that gap – by turning complex environmental problems into fun, relatable, and educational experiences through board and mobile games,” Eugenia narrated.
She added, “From these pressing environmental issues, such as deforestation, illegal mining, plastic waste pollution, and unsustainable farming, we have pledged to create games that educate, engage, and empower – transforming awareness into action and inspiring lasting change for a more sustainable planet.”
A First for Africa — and a Proud Moment for Ghana
The launch was more than a product introduction. It was a celebration of African innovation. ATi becomes the continent’s first deforestation board game and Ghana’s first environmental mobile game. This is an achievement that positions the country as a leader in creative climate education.
Hill View International School also etched its name in history as the first school to officially host the launch. The applause in the room expressed the shared pride in witnessing a homegrown initiative rise to continental relevance.
“We are proud to announce that ATi is Africa’s first deforestation board game and Ghana’s first deforestation mobile game – a milestone that truly deserves a round of applause!,” she indicated as the audience cheered.
She added, “This achievement signifies more than just a first in gaming; it marks a new chapter in how environmental education can be engaging, culturally relevant, and action-oriented for players across the continent.”
The Four4Four Project: Turning Game Lessons Into Real Action
Woven into the core aim of ATi Games, it is not just about the fun, is also about the impact the innovation brings to Africa and Ghana’s drive for a sustainable environment. In view of this aim, one of the most transformative parts of ATi’s introduction is the Four4Four Project.
This is a project to ensure that the game does not stop at entertainment. The project drives four major areas of real-world impact:
Climate and Sustainability Education: Players gain knowledge that helps them understand climate challenges and make better choices.
Tree-Planting and Urban Greening: Schools and communities will plant trees and restore green spaces inspired by what they learn in the game.
Net Zero Emissions Awareness: ATi encourages habits and actions that reduce carbon footprints and promote cleaner living.
Youth Climate Leadership: The project trains young people to become environmental ambassadors in their schools and communities.
The result Eco Games Foundation is a powerful cycle where players learn the right things, practice them in their communities, and inspire others to join.
Supporting Global Goals – and Ghana’s Own Campaigns
Eco Games Foundation has also aligned ATi with key UN Sustainable Development Goals. By teaching about clean air, sustainable land use, and afforestation in a playful way, the game brings global climate goals into everyday Ghanaian life.
More importantly, ATi supports Ghana’s national campaigns like Green Ghana, Blue Water Guard, and the fight against galamsey by turning these big initiatives into relatable actions students can understand and take part in.
“ATi doesn’t just echo the SDGs, it connects them to Ghana’s own environmental priorities, supporting the Green Ghana tree-planting initiative, the Blue Water Guard campaign, and ongoing efforts against illegal mining (galamsey),” Eugenia emphasized.
She continued, “By making these campaigns interactive, ATi bridges the gap between national policy and community engagement, turning learning into action and awareness into advocacy.”
A Timely Innovation
This innovation comes at a time when deforestation, illegal mining, and polluted water bodies are threatening communities every day. The menace of galamsey, which is threatening Ghana’s lands, ecosystems, and waterbodies, has become the order of the day, with the government spending significant resources to fight the canker.
ATi arrives at a moment when the country desperately needs creative tools to drive change. The game gives young people and adults a safe, fun space to learn, question, discuss, and explore solutions. It makes climate action feel close, practical, and possible.
Eco Games Foundation called on government, private companies, schools, NGOs, and community leaders to partner in scaling the initiative nationwide. To the foundation, if Ghana wants a greener and sustainable future, then environmental education must meet people where they are, such as young people in classrooms, on smartphones, and around game boards.
“We call on the government, private institutions, non-profit organizations, educators, and community leaders to join us in scaling this vision. Together, we can nurture a generation that learns, plays, and acts for the planet,” she appealed.
The Feedback
After the launch and the students of Hill View International School were given first-hand experience of the game, headmaster of the school, Chris Bamfo, was very elated. He praised ATi for its “beautiful learning experience.” He said the innovation brings the theory the students have learned in the classroom to life through fun while charging them to take action.
“Aside from the classroom teaching and learning on the various topics that they have studied in the subject area of social studies, for example, they are getting an enriched development on how best to be able to protect the environment,” the headmaster remarked.
Persis Arthur, a student of the school who got the opportunity to play the board game with her friends, confessed how the fun activity has enriched her knowledge in environmental sustainability.
She narrated that “I learned through ATi that deforestation can cause harm to the environment, and we need the trees to survive. We breathe oxygen from the trees, so we need them to survive, and cutting down trees can harm animals, too.”
Nelson Tokpo of Nviron Hive was also enthused about the relatability of the game, which gives the innovation a local context, while the computing teacher of Hill International School, Joseph Torgbor Torto, was excited about how the games help in the fight against the menace of galamsey through fun activities.
