Barbara W. de Berlín y Javier R. de Barna estuvieron en Bergen (Noruega) en octubre 2006, llevando a cabo una presentación de la trayectoria de Bordergames, en un encuentro llamado Games, New Media and Democracy” de la UiB.
Os pasamos una entrevista (traducida al inglés), que un medio de allá les hizo a ambos:

Bergens Tidende, Thursday Oct 26, 2006

Computer games create integration

Bordergames lets both legal and illegal immigrants tell their stories through videogames. This can also be done in Bergen, says Javier Rodrigo and Barbara Weigel.

Walter N. Wehus, Vegar Valde (Photo) walter.wehus@bt.no

–The most important thing is not the product, but integration.
Javier Rodrigo from Spain and Barbara Weigel from Germany are part of an art collective based in Madrid and they are in Bergen to present their ”Bordergames” at a video game conference at the University of Bergen (UiB).

Positive self representation

–We got the idea in 2001. We were invited to Los Angeles as artists in residence and came in contact with a youth organization that worked with kids to create positive selfrepresentation, says Rodrigo.
It is precisely self-representation that Bordergames is about. In Madrid, they organized a three-month series of workshops for young immigrants. The kids had access to video equipment and computers. The goal was for the kids to go out and find stories dealing with being an immigrant.

–It’s about autonomy. In Spain there are many undocumented, illegal immigrants who have entered through the Mediterranean. These kids could relate to stories about difficulties with getting jobs, problems with the police and so on, says Rodrigo.

Do the programming themselves

In ”Bordergames”, you play an immigrant without papers, starting on a square in Madrid.
By talking to social workers, police, friends and strangers, many stories are being told.
The programming and the development of the game platform are also done by the immigrants at the workshops. The game can be downloaded for free at the website bordergames.org. It is important to the two creators that all the work is based on open source code. This way, the game and the process can be exported to anywhere in the world.

Exported to Germany

–In Germany there are not many immigrants without papers. There are mostly Turks who have passport and houses, but who still have troubles getting accepted, says Weigel.
Bordergames was recently started in Berlin, where they made a local version of the game using the same methods of workshops and giving kids digital video cameras.
–You have to remember that borders are not only physical, but also cultural, she says.
The result is two-fold: You do not only get a videogame that everybody can play and that contains a wealth of information that can be useful both to immigrants and to others who want to learn more about them. Even more important is the process itself that
gives many of the kids a sense of belonging that they didn’t have before.

UiB’s video game environment

Rodrigo and Weigel participated at the seminar ”Games, New Media and Democracy” at UiB.
–There is not much research on video games in Spain, so we were impressed by all the different approaches here. We got in touch with people that have to deal with the same problems as us and not least with experts from all disciplines, says Rodrigo.
Weigel points out that it would not require much to start Bordergames projects in cities like Bergen or Oslo
–You need someone with contacts in the community, but asides from that, you only need a physical place with computers. For example a school or a closed café, Weigel explains.
They now hope that the game and the concept will spread to more cities in Europe.
Photo caption: IDENTITY AT PLAY: ”Bordergames” is a completely new way of thinking integration in Europe. Barbara Weigel and Javier Rodrigo hope the concept will spread to more cities.
Quote: ”You have to remember that borders are not only physical, but also cultural” BARBARA WEIGEL.