Sanskar logo. Image taken from UNAOC webpage.
Sanskar is an interactive Android app that promotes “harmony through acceptance” and helps users explore new cultures, through games and animated videos to demonstrate understanding and acceptance in 18 different cultures from around the globe. The developers intend the app to be used for training people in cross-cultural interactions through the medium of gaming.
Sanskar was one of the five winners [1] of the Create UNAOC 2012 competition, organized by Create UNAOC [2], a global competition co-organized by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations [3], the Learning Games Network [4], and the MIT Education Arcade [5] in search of mobile apps and games that can enable new avenues for intercultural dialogue. Sanskar was developed by the Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications [6].
The goal for the app is to serve the global community by providing tools that help in understanding other cultures. Each activity unit is followed up with quizzes to assess your progress. The user is also invited to create content and share it via the app, building a database of cultural knowledge.
The app was inspired by the spiritual leader Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Dev [7]i (known as “Amma”). In her address to the UNAOC forum in Shanghai, China, she emphasized the importance of respecting, understanding and accepting others as the basis for harmony among the various cultures of the world.
Screenshot of three different uses for Sanskar, taken from UNAOC webpage.
Sanskar is in its final phase of development and is expected to be released soon on the Google Play Store.