The document “Game Gaming Challenges and Opportunities for the Dissemination of Digital Skills” addresses the issue with the aim of providing useful indications for building a video game culture and spreading awareness of the challenges and opportunities of the powerful phenomenon. The text was produced by a dedicated working group, formed as part of the “Digital Republic” programme and coordinated by the Department for Digital Transformation together with Telefono Azzurro Onlus. The reflections emerged on the occasion of the 2022 edition of the “Safer Internet Day” were the starting point to deepen the topic and act to spread a greater knowledge and awareness of the opportunities and challenges related to a phenomenon that transcends the dimension of entertainment, whose diffusion is increasing among the Italian population. The latest annual report published by IIDEA (Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association) shows that there are 14.2 million Italian citizens between the ages of 6 and 64 who use video games (equal to 32.2 % of the population) with a market of around 2,200 million euros. The resolution adopted by the European Parliament last November recognises the video game industry as a key part of the European Union’s creative and digital industry. Video games become increasingly engaging and articulated tools, leading to the emergence of new opportunities for the development of digital, professional and social skills. Consider, for example, the use of video games for teaching, the contribution to orientation towards STEM careers or the development of the most requested soft skills in the world of work. However, the complexity of the online components and social interaction, which are increasingly fundamental parts of the gaming experience, lead to new challenges in terms of protecting the safety of younger sections of the population, especially related to content, usage times, social interactions and in-game purchases (in particular loot boxes). The objectives of the project Objective of the working group is to contribute to the construction of a video game culture, constituting a space for comparison and sharing of resources, knowledge and experiences with the aim of co-designing and co-programming innovative initiatives that can help to promote awareness about the medium and the different tools available. In this way it will be possible to lay more solid foundations for the protection of video gamers, breaking down stereotypes and fears, with a careful look at the evolution of the phenomenon in line with the new technological and social trends. The main element of added value of the initiative is in fact represented by the heterogeneity and complementarity of the competences of the working group, which involves the participation of the central institutions involved on the topic (Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Ministry of Education and Merit and State Police), companies in the sector represented by IIDEA (Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association) and various organisations from the world of enterprise, research and the third sector, members of the National Coalition of the Digital Republic. The first step of the group’s journey saw the elaboration of a document representing the summary of the shares of the participants in the group, presenting the following contents:

• Context analysis – starting from a definition of “video game” that allows to define a reference framework for the working group, the document presents the main data on the sector and the legal framework, both at national and Community level, also offering an overview of the measures and tools available for the protection of players.
• Indications for the development of policies and system actions – recommendations useful for the definition of system actions that, synergistically involving all institutional actors and not only, contribute to the promotion of the sector but, at the same time, to the protection of players through the dissemination of a greater awareness of the phenomenon.
• Recommendations for educators – suggestions and recommendations that the working group has developed with the aim of raising awareness among all actors involved in the education of young people about the risks and opportunities of video games.
• Key messages – examples of key messages developed by the working group, aimed at young players, both pre-teens and adolescents, and their parents.
• Glossary – given the specificity of the language used in the field, the document offers a glossary containing the meaning of the technical terminology used.