Our Partners
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is one of Sweden's oldest universities and a comprehensive research university ranked among the best in the world, with 50,000 students and close to 5,000 researchers. Researchers from three different departments participate in Larpocracy: the departments of Political Science, Informatics and Media, and Game Design. Uppsala also coordinates the project.
Routed in WP 2, Upssal University will focuse on studying the effects of democracy-based larps. This overall category includes larps with democratic themes and/or that practice key skills, but is also inclusive of larps exploring experiences of oppression. Examples are drawn mostly from Nordic larp and related design communities. Of particular interest are larps designed to raise awareness on specific issues related to democracy, i.e. activism, as well as larps designed to facilitate democratic processes, for example deliberation.
To explore the effects of democracy-based larps, we will conduct workshops, surveys, and interviews that gather the various experiences and standpoints of designers, organizers, and participants. Our takeaways from these studies will inform the next work package, in which we will design and pilot our own democracy-based larps, researching their impacts over time whenever possible. Ideally, we will discover design recommendations that can help designers create larps with intentionality when aiming to cultivate democratic values and skills.
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Professor Annika Waern
Professor at Department of Informatics and Media.
Working across all WPs
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Sarah Lynne Bowman
Senior Lecturer/Docent, Department of Game Design
Working across WP2 and WP3
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Soner Barthoma
Project Coordinator at Centre for Multidisciplinary Research on Religion and Society (CRS)
Working on WP1
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Karin Johansson
PhD Student. Department of Informatics and media: Human-Computer Interaction
Working across WP 2 and WP 3 -
Jon Back
Senior Lecturer/Docent,Human-Computer Interaction.
Working across WP 2 and WP 3
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Professor PerOla Öberg
Political Science.
Working across WP 2 and WP 3
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Weronika Szatkowska
PhD Student, Human-Computer Interaction.
Working across WP 2 and WP 3
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Tampere Univeristy
Tampere University Game Research Lab carries out innovative research in games and play, organises university degree education into game studies, and builds bridges from fundamental research to societal impact in its various collaborations. In Larpocracy, Tampere University Game Research Lab leads the study of the human encounter as a consciously designable surface.
University of Greenwich
The University of Greenwich (UoG) leads Work Package 4 (WP4) in the Larpocracy project, working closely with Larpocracy partner ZU-UK and focusing on co-designing and testing larp-adjacent participatory methods for democratic engagement with marginalised communities in Pará, Brazil.
Through its expertise in practice-based research, participatory design, and immersive theatre, UoG ensures that Larpocracy advances inclusive, deliberative civic participation both in-person and digitally.
Key Contributions:
- Leadership of WP4
- Overseeing community-led participatory design, artistic interventions, and long-term sustainability.
- Co-Design of DRIFT Residency & ZAP-Lab with partners ZU-UK.
- Developing in-person and digital participatory experiences for civic engagement.
- Research & Theoretical Development.
- Conducting fieldwork and evaluating larp-adjacent methodologies for democratic skill-building.
- Public Engagement at COP30. Showcasing larp-based artistic outputs to international audiences, designed by local artists.
The Centre for Creative Futures focuses on ensuring that the benefits of rapid digital innovations in the creative industries are distributed equitably among professionals and audiences. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the Centre aims to support creatives by providing training, research, and collaboration opportunities.
Key objectives include:
- Advocating for an equitable future in the creative industries.
- Supporting postgraduate and early-career researchers through mentorship and collaboration.
- Hosting events (workshops, seminars, conferences) to explore emerging research and funding opportunities.
- Engaging with stakeholders (practitioners, policymakers, etc.) to foster industry-wide collaboration.
- Publishing impactful research and policy reports to inform public discourse and drive progress.
The Centre positions itself as a thought leader, ensuring creative professionals can navigate and benefit from technological advancements while maintaining industry inclusivity. Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments (ICE) The Institute for Inclusive Communities and Environments (ICE) seeks to foster greater inclusivity and reduce inequalities among diverse individuals, communities, and environments. Using the arts, humanities, and social sciences our researchers and practitioners work collaboratively with communities, organisations, and policymakers in the UK and around the world to address the social and environmental challenges of our time.
LARPifiers
LARPifiers is a company based in Athens, Greece. We design and host larp games for educational, psychotherapeutic and/or entertainment purposes. With studies in psychology, education, technology, art, and many seminars on how to incorporate them in larp games, the team never passes a chance to train harder and gain more knowledge for future use.
The team works mostly within the Erasmus+ framework, creating tools and methodologies aimed at young people and youth workers.
All the members of our team are youth workers of various academic and professional backgrounds (education, psychology, technology, art, theatre, sports etc), brought together by the realisation of the great effect our hobbies, and specifically the medium of larps, could have in our respective fields. This gave birth to LARPifiers AMKE, a non-profit organisation based in Athens, Greece. The accumulated skills of our team include: storytelling and RPG narrating, board game design, gamification design, urban game design, improv theatre, psychodrama and drama therapy, burnout management and communication skills, non-formal educational tool design, and research methodology. Our mission is to promote the use of interactive and immersive experiences, and especially larps, for educational, therapeutic and recreational purposes.
To achieve this we design, host and facilitate larps, board games, festivals and other engaging activities in local communities (schools, camps, colleges, youth organisations etc) as well as in international mobilities and conventions. The subjects that our games revolve around include environmental sustainability, mental health, youth work, cultural understanding and cooperation, active participation, minimising the dangers of isolation, violent radicalisation and marginalisation, and many more.
Our involvement in this project will include:
Contributing to the research activities of WP2 and WP3
Coordinating the publication of an open-access larp anthology (WP3)
Organising and hosting a larp festival in Athens (WP5)
Organising and hosting the 4th pan-project symposium in Athens (WP6)
Contributing to the policy toolkit and recommendations (WP7) and the dissemination of the project (WP8)
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Elektra Diakolambrianou
Researcher, Project Manager, Larp Designer / Organiser / Facilitator Working across WPs 1,2,3,5,6,7
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Alexandros Alexiou
CEO, Larp Designer / Organiser / Facilitator
Working across WP5, WP6 and WP8
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Nikola Sekulic
Research Assistant, Larp Designer / Organiser / Facilitator
Working across WPs 1,2,3,5,6,7
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Katerina Zannou
Communications and Social Media Manager, Larp Designer / Organiser / Facilitator
Working across WP5 and WP8
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Angie Bandhoesingh
Larp designer / organizer / facilitator Working across WP5, WP6 and WP8
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Theodore Oikonomou
Larp Designer / Organiser / Facilitator Working across WP5, WP6 and WP8
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Manolis Boniatis
Financial Manager
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Kjell Hedgard Hugaas
Researcher, Larp Designer / Organiser / Facilitator
Working across WP2 and WP3
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ZU-UK
ZU-UK is a disabled-led and working class-led organisation based in Bootle, Liverpool and Newham, East London.
With over two decades creating interactive experiences using performance, games, and technology, ZU-UK are multi-award-winning leaders in participatory theatre & performance.
Our work spans multiple art forms, disciplines, formats and spaces to address issues of social justice, mental health and climate emergency - from ringing all UK phone-boxes simultaneously in response to suicide rates to recruiting ghost-hunters in shopping-malls to investigate human rights and climate in supplychains.
We believe in the transformative power of collaborative human experience and provide tailor-made experiences that create alternative realities. Our work is often used as the industry standard regarding care and ethics in audience participation.
ZU-UK will work within WP8 - Dissemination and Exploitation
Europe 4 Youth
Europe4Youth is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to empowering young people and fostering their growth in various aspect of life. We create opportunities for education, development, and civic participation, building a vibrant and democratic civil society at local, national, and European levels. Our focus areas include youth policy development, providing non-formal education, game-based learning and international cooperation.
Our vision is a European civil society where young people are active, self-aware, and engaged in shaping political, social, and cultural life at all levels. By facilitating dialogue with decision makers, hosting educational activities, and promoting lifelong learning, Europe4Youth ensures young people not only have a voice but the tools to shape their futures and their communities. We provide youth information, consultations, and guidance. We manage youth centers in Kraków and Rabka-Zdrój, creating spaces for connection and learning. Collaborating with local authorities, we shape youth policies and strengthen youth participation in democracy.
Through youth exchanges, educational projects, and innovative tools like board games, edu-larps, and workshops, we inspire and equip young people to thrive. In Larpocracy we are responsible for organization of the first larp festival of Larpocracy project. We are involved in research of democratic design of space for human encounters. Based on the data collected during field research we will create a model of larp festival that will be turned into practice during a that will take place in Poland in summer 2026. We are also involved in impact study of larps for development of democratic attitudes.
Chaos League
Chaos League is a collective of designers, educators and researchers based in Italy and specialized in larp-driven storytelling and immersive experiences. Their work extends across Europe in collaboration with renowned larp designers and institutions, using larp as a tool for social engagement and critical reflection. Since 1992, Chaos League has explored activism and social change through fiction, tackling some of today’s most pressing issues.
Their large-scale larps function as immersive thought experiments, where players confront moral, social and political dilemmas in deeply engaging settings, from the themes of migration and discrimination (The Border), environmental crisis (New Atlantis), post-colonial critic (Sahara Expedition) to community building, community management and conflict transformation (Bunker 101). One of their most impactful works is the chamber larp First They Came, set in 1942 Berlin, where players take on the roles of individuals persecuted by the Nazi regime. The game challenges participants with moral dilemmas, resistance and survival, sparking deep reflection on ethics and human rights. Used widely in educational settings, it showcases larp’s potential as a powerful tool for learning and social awareness.
Beyond larp design, Chaos League is actively involved in educational initiatives, offering workshops and immersive training sessions for diverse audiences, including children, teens, and adults. In Larpocracy, Chaos League leads WP6 (Domain Expert Panel), ensuring that larp and the methodologies developed in the project can be adapted and applied across diverse contexts. By leveraging expertise in game design, education and civic engagement, the aim of the DEP is to contribute to the development of transferable interactive tools that make democratic participation more accessible, experiential and impactful beyond the project itself.
