Gathering ’11 was an event that brought together leading thinkers, change-makers and collaborators from across Australia and around the world to explore and develop ideas on how to solve today’s most pressing social and environmental challenges, together.

In this series of podcasts I interview the attendees about their personal experiences of Gathering ’11, as a way of exploring these topics further, and of continuing the conversation.

This morning, I interviewed Marigo Raftopolous — Owner and Director of Strategic Games Lab. Marigo is working with social technologies, game dynamics, collaboration & innovation to reshape the world for the better. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.

You can follow Marigo on Twitter: @marigo. She shares her ideas on her blog: Tales from the Casbah.

Marigo presented a lightning talk at Gathering ’11, on the topic of Gamification and how game mechanics can be used to build community and influence change. I thought I’d follow up with a conversation about this.

During the interview, we talk about challenging the status quo; building momentum for change through positive action and reinforcement; and the importance of taking action. As a nice segue from last week’s episode, we also talk about the importance of play and fun to engage and involve people.

Credits: Intro music by Sic Alps / by-nc-sa

Please consider donating via the Gathering ’11 website. Your contribution will ensure the team can pull together Gathering ’12 and continue to share what they learned from Gathering ’11. They greatly appreciate your support!