In Arabic, “الساحة” (Al seha)  represents an open and accessible area that serves as a focal point for social, cultural, and civic activities, usually in a community center.

‘Al Seha’ is an engaging tool, in the form of a game, that is meticulously designed to foster the values and practice of engaged citizenship, good governance, and social justice within nafda schools and their surrounding communities.

It was developed to address the need for a tool that students and teachers can utilize to put into practice and internalize these values. Dr. Wadiaa Khoury, the founder of Teachers Agents of Social Change (TASC), came up with the idea to gamify the values integration experience. The nafda team, alongside school principals and the historian Mr. Charles Hayek, helped design the questions to adapt to the complex contexts that students are living in. 

It presents an exciting and interactive learning experience for teams of students. Its purpose is to promote healthy dialogue, impart knowledge about core values through challenging thought-provoking questions, problem-solving, and contemplation of morally ambiguous scenarios specifically related to Lebanon and our culture.

It expands their mindsets and educational experiences and empowers them to develop critical agency; the ability to actively work and influence their environment, make their own decisions, and take charge of their learning journeys.

It is composed of over 100 questions, scenarios and team activities that challenge their knowledge, mindsets and behaviors. Along the way, they learn fun and new aspects of Lebanese society and culture that they otherwise wouldn’t know. They equally learn to reflect on their own perspectives and make space for debate around pertinent and pressing every-day issues.

Students and educators at nafda partner schools who were closely involved in the game’s pilot named it. This made us realize that students from both public and private sectors are eager for a common ground, a place to express their needs, ambitions, and knowledge openly, with no barriers. 

The visual identity of the game is also meant to reflect the diversity of Lebanon’s society, ensuring representation along the lines of gender, age, faith, ability and more. The characters are all active on their road towards Al Seha – their meeting place – engaging in various activities: walking, running, playing, helping the elderly, feeding stray animals, freely expressing their opinions and more.