Marja tuhkanen biography for kids

Join us for a collaborative journey of game creation from concept to launch.

In this article, you’ll learn about the creative process behind the online game Forest Kids, from its initial concept to its final launch.

You’ll discover how the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Avoin, and the European Space Agency (ESA) worked together to create an engaging and educational experience for children.

You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at all levels of the game’s development, including ideation, managing the project, designing the game, programming, and production.

You’ll also find out what the game means to the people who made it, and what kind of meaningful impact they hope it has on the world.

Why Forest Kids?

Forest Kids came from unexpected beginnings.

Sara Maulo, from the UN FAO, was home with her kids during the pandemic. And she was thinking about ways to engage her children without too much screen time. Something a lot of parents can relate to.

Still, she and her kids found a space game from the European Space Agency featuring a friendly alien named Paxi. What’s more, they enjoyed playing it together. And Sara appreciated that it was educational.

She shared the game with her colleague, Chiara Patriarca, who also happens to be a mom. Together, they asked a simple question: What if we had a game about forests to teach kids more about the importance of trees for life on Earth?

Together, Chiara and Sara approached ESA. Sara said, “The idea [ for Forest Kids ] came out of a discussion between ourselves and ESA.”

The flowering of an idea

Turning their joint idea into a fully featured game was not a straightforward endeavor.

Sara found herself playing the role of coordinator, arranging countless meetings between internal stakeholders, Avoin (the game developers), and ESA.

Chiara played a more technical role. She said, “I was more involved in setting and defining which types of ecosystems w

Irish musician (born 1970)

Glen James Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten of the Irish Album Charts. In the 2000s, he was one half of folk rock duo The Swell Season before releasing his debut solo album, Rhythm and Repose, in 2012. His 2015 second album Didn't He Ramble was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.

Primarily a musician, he has also acted and written music for film; he appeared in the BAFTA-winning film The Commitments (1991) and starred in the Irish music drama Once (2007) which earned him a number of major awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly" with co-writer and co-star Markéta Irglová. The film was later adapted into a musical theatre production.

Career

Hansard quit school at age 13 to begin busking on local Dublin streets. He formed his own band The Frames in 1990, and the group have been gigging regularly in Ireland since. Hansard came to international attention as guitar player Outspan Foster in the 1991 Alan Parker film The Commitments. He has often stated that he regretted taking the role because he felt it distracted him from his music career. In 2003, he presented the television programme Other Voices: Songs from a Room, which showcased Irish music talent on RTÉ.

On 22 April 2006, he released his first album without The Frames, The Swell Season, on Overcoat Recordings in collaboration with Czech singer and multi-instrumentalist Markéta Irglová, Marja Tuhkanen from Finland on violin and viola, and Bertrand Galen from France on cello. Hansard also spent part of 2006 in front of the cameras for the music-infused Irish film Once, in which Hansard plays a Dublin busker, and Irglová an imm

Glen James Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten of the Irish Album Charts. In the 2000s, he was one half of folk rock duo The Swell Season before releasing his debut solo album, Rhythm and Repose, in 2012. His 2015 second album Didn't He Ramble was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.

Primarily a musician, he has also acted and written music for film; he appeared in the BAFTA-winning film The Commitments (1991) and starred in the Irish music drama Once (2007) which earned him a number of major awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly" with co-writer and co-star Markéta Irglová. The film was later adapted into a musical theatre production.

Career

Hansard quit school at age 13 to begin busking on local Dublin streets. He formed his own band The Frames in 1990, and the group have been gigging regularly in Ireland since. Hansard came to international attention as guitar player Outspan Foster in the 1991 Alan Parker film The Commitments. He has often stated that he regretted taking the role because he felt it distracted him from his music career. In 2003, he presented the television programme Other Voices: Songs from a Room, which showcased Irish music talent on RTÉ.

On 22 April 2006, he released his first album without The Frames, T