I have not always worked in academia. It may not shine through my current work in the social sciences, but I initially trained as a computer scientist and specialized as a front-end webdeveloper. And while I have long struggled to find meaning in this part of my personal story, I must admit occasionally nurturing a feeling of nostalgic contentment towards a few projects I was involved with in the past. In hindsight, these projects may well have been instrumental in helping me define the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of my current (scientific) work, even if very indirectly. Hence this little pedestal in the (admittedly, self deprecating) ‘other work’ section.
In 2013 and 2014, I was the Digital Producer of the multi-award-winning webdocumentary Copa Para Quem ? An interactive companion platform to the eponymous (linear) documentary, the webdocumentary takes users through the lived experience of some of the frontline communities in Fortaleza, Brazil, as the fast-paced preparations for the 2014 FIFA worldcup was wreaking havoc in the city. I was in charge of developing the web-based platform and its interactive functioning through both front and back-end development.
In 2015, working in close partnership with my friend Simon Carrasco, Digital Art Director at GrafikWar, we developed the online serious game Providence on social security for CNCD-11.11.11, the umbrella organisation of development NGOs in Belgium. In Providence, users roleplay a head of state shaping the country’s social welfare policy. Through video interviews, news articles, and infographics, you seek advice from experts, NGOs, labor unions, and politicians. But be careful—each of your decisions could change the lives of the residents of Providence. The project won multiple awards, including the “Prix Le Soir” and the audience award for best webdocumentary at Millenium Festival in Brussels.
