Across several decades, innovative ideas have been presented at the ISAGA conference in education and training, policy-making and governance, decision-making, raising awareness with the use of simulation games and gamification. However, the opportunity and need for “social impact” are now more apparent than ever. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing and caused major disruptions to traditional education models, supply chains, and our everyday life. While climate change has been discussed for decades, the issue is now front and center, with citizens facing the consequences of extreme weather situations and governments needing to take immediate actions to mitigate future events. The issue of mental health has risen to prominence, due to stress-inducing workplaces, financial hardship, the aforementioned pandemic, and thanks to incredible athletes such as Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles who stand and speak up about this issue. The Women’s March, Black Lives Matter, and the Anti-Asian Violence are a few of many instances that mark the criticality of social justice to improve the world. 

This year, the conference’s main theme emphasizes the need for social impact, and invites the ISAGA community to submit contributions that may help facilitate practices and challenges in a post-COVID world. In particular, we seek contributions on four relevant and timely social impact sub-themes: (1) education & training, (2) resilience & sustainability, (3) health, and (4) social justice. Every day of the conference we will highlight one of these sub-themes.