Today the World Bank Institute launched its new online multiplayer game, EVOKE and it is designed to empower young people all over the world, and especially in Africa, to start solving urgent social problems like hunger, poverty, disease, conflict, climate change, sustainable energy, health care, education, and human rights.

They will be challenged to complete a series of ten missions and ten quests -- one per week, over the course of the ten-week game.

"Not only are players learning the 21st century skills to become the social innovators that shape the future, they're also earning real-world honors and rewards,” says Robert Hawkins, a Senior Education Specialist at the World Bank Institute, and Executive Producer for the game. "Top players will earn mentorships with experienced social innovators and business leaders from around the world, and scholarships to share their vision for the future at the EVOKE Summit in Washington DC.”

Players who successfully complete ten online missions in ten weeks will also be able to receive a special distinction: World Bank Institute Social Innovator – Class of 2010.

The project began as a response to African universities' desire to engage students in real world problems and to develop capacities for creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial action that will be the engine for job creation now and in the future.

"An evoke is an urgent call to innovation," says the game's creative director Jane McGonigal. "When we evoke, we look for creative solutions and learn how to tackle the world's toughest problems with creativity, courage, resourcefulness and collaboration."

Set in the year 2020, the story follows the efforts of a mysterious network of Africa’s best problem-solvers. Each week, as players unravel the mystery of the Evoke network, they will form their own innovation networks: brainstorming creative solutions to real-world development challenges, learning more about what it takes to be a successful social innovator, and finding ways to make a difference in the world.

"In the world of the EVOKE graphic novel, the people who are most prepared for the problems of the future are the ones who are grappling with them today," says EVOKE story director Kiyash Monsef. "And that's exactly what our players are doing by participating in this game. They're preparing for the future."

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Register now at www.urgentevoke.com

Watch the game trailer at: http://vimeo.com/9094186

EVOKE TRAILER:(Voice of "Alchemy" by Adam Behr of www.adambehr.com)