Layered Positive Communication Spaces Around a Serious Game in the Russian-Ukrainian War: The NotaYeNota Ecosystem
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/10.17721/2522-1272.2026.89.8Keywords:
cognitive resilience, disinformation, serious games, social media, Ukraine, positive online spaces, communication ecosystem, wartime communicationAbstract
Objectives. This article examines how a serious game project in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian War can give rise to layered positive communication spaces across multiple platforms and participant groups. The study asks how communicative mechanisms and platform affordances contributed to the emergence of a positive communication ecosystem around the NotaYeNota project in Ukraine. Method. The study adopts a mixed-methods case study design. Data sources include platform analytics, Telegram community membership and activity data, inter-module meeting records, Facebook group activity data, and facilitator session reports (n = 948) alongside educator survey responses (n = 236, response rate 94 %), collected across two implementation waves (2023–2024). Qualitative thematic analysis was applied to identify communicative functions and well-being dimensions across five ecosystem layers. Results. Five interdependent layers of positive communicative space emerged around the game: a task-construction platform and training infrastructure; a closed Telegram peer-support community; synchronous inter-module reflection meetings; a semi-open Facebook professional network; and mediated classroom and shelter spaces for learners. Each layer activated distinct functional, psychological, social, or cognitive dimensions of well-being, and the layers operated as a mutually reinforcing ecosystem rather than independently. Conclusions. Serious games deployed in wartime may function as catalysts for layered communicative infrastructures that appear to support educator continuity, peer solidarity, and cognitive resilience during the Russian-Ukrainian War. The findings contribute to research on positive online spaces by proposing an ecosystem perspective that moves beyond single-platform analysis.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Alona Romaniuk (Автор)
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