International partnerships
Participation in European consortia increases your impact. Discover our role as a design partner in international collaborations and European programs, where we actively expand our network and initiate new projects.
Game on sexual health
Shkorey en Shariki
Shkorey is an educational game about sexual health, pregnancy, the human body and raising young children. It was created for and in close co-creation with Eritrean newcomers in the Netherlands. An important feature in the game is ‘Help in your area’, which brings appropriate local support and care closer to the users.
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In short
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Facilitates open conversations about sensitive topics
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Addresses the most urgent questions about pregnancy and maternity care
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The ‘Help in your area’ feature guides users to appropriate care and support
Reducing the distance between caregiver and newcomer with a digital game
The Shkorey Foundation seeks to improve access to information on sexual health and parenting for newcomers in the Netherlands. Its core principle is the development of educational materials and interventions through co-creation with the intended beneficiaries. Organisations contributing to this project included the Municipality of Leeuwarden, Rutgers Foundation, Lemat Foundation, GGD Fryslân, PincKlouds, 8D Games, Leti Arts, alongside various cultural mediators and Eritrean and Arabic-speaking youth.
In addition to the development and implementation of the game, Shkorey organises a broad range of supplementary programmes. For example, a creative team of Eritrean youth has been established to develop content for the app, ranging from videos to storylines. Furthermore, the foundation provides manuals and workshops for healthcare professionals to ensure they know exactly how to use the tool in their daily practice.
Approach
Throughout the entire development process, co-creation was given ample space. In collaboration with project leader Geertje Postma, 8D organised sessions with both Eritrean youth and healthcare professionals. What challenges does a newly arrived Eritrean parent face in the Netherlands? And what tools do healthcare providers need to effectively inform this target group?
Initiator Geertje Postma: “The journey towards creating the game was just as important as the end product itself. Eritrean youth played a key role in its development, and along the way it sparked many meaningful conversations about sexual health, the human body, maternity care, and parenting.”
Case: Game on sexual health
“De mensen van 8D Games ervaar ik eveneens als charismatisch en gepassioneerd. Daarnaast werken ze heel gestructureerd. Wij hebben al heel wat internationale samenwerkingen gedaan en dat ook wel eens anders meegemaakt. Shkorey is tot nu toe echt een smooth ride.”
Eyram Tawia
CEO
Results
In collaboration with the youth, 8D developed a narrative game centred around a group of friends. Each character faces dilemmas related to themes such as the human body and sexual health. Players decide how each character responds to different situations, with each chapter concluding with a knowledge quiz. This quiz can also be played separately and together with others.
One of the design challenges was finding the right balance between playfulness, creating connection, and integrating preventive health messages. That is why the game features a variety of characters in both familiar and less familiar situations. For example, a father makes choices about actively taking on parenting responsibilities for a child who is not biologically his. These stories broaden players’ perspectives on the options available to them, without being moralistic or imposing a particular choice.
An important feature is the integration of a local care map. This allows players to easily find nearby healthcare providers related to the themes covered in the game.
Publications
After the app was launched, researchers from Rutgers Centre of Expertise on Sexuality used the intervention for qualitative research into the app’s usability and the themes it covers. This research focused on two groups: Eritrean youth and healthcare professionals in various regions of the Netherlands. Several research questions were integrated into the game itself, while input from professionals was gathered through questionnaires. The final report of this research was published in the spring of 2024.
“Many Eritrean newcomers found the app to be a useful and valuable resource, especially due to the Tigrinya language option and the flexibility to explore information at their own pace. This enabled users to learn about important topics such as healthy relationships, pregnancy, and parenting in an accessible way. Professionals who used the app particularly appreciated how Shkorey makes these topics easier to discuss in a way that resonates with the target group.”
Source: Rutgers Centre of Expertise on Sexuality
Shkorey was launched in February 2023. In 2025, the app was expanded with new storylines created by and for Arabic-speaking youth, under the name ‘Shariki’.
Read more about social design
In all our projects, we work according to a proprietary social design method which we have refined over the past decade based on experience. Our approach combines the best of several design-oriented methodologies, with co-creation with stakeholders at its core. The beauty of this approach is that we allow room for course changes based on co-creation, while keeping the momentum going by making task allocations and schedules as concrete as possible.
Research at the heart of society
At 8D, we support researchers in integrating a design approach into their work, from project design to creative product development and process supervision. These participatory methodologies help solve complex, people-centred problems and embed research findings in society in a sustainable way.
