{"id":3714,"date":"2025-11-23T22:09:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T21:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/minecraft.gadlab.net\/hello-world\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T09:23:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T07:23:40","slug":"hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minecraft.gadlab.net\/en\/hello-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Hello world!"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s something about WordPress that I’ve always found moving: the first post the CMS publishes all by itself, like a newborn crying into the void, is called “Hello world!”.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

It’s a nod to programmers—the tradition is that the first program you write in any programming language displays those exact two words. It’s a rite of passage. A declaration of existence<\/em>. So I decided to keep that title. Because in a way, that’s exactly what this project is. <\/p>\n\n

How it all started<\/h2>\n\n

I’m a communication designer, a UI\/UX architect<\/span>, and a teacher. I have a son. And like many parents of my generation, I found myself facing a question our own parents never had to ask: how do you teach a child to live in the digital world?
Not to protect themselves from it—that’s a battle lost from the start and honestly not the right one. But to live well in it. To create rather than consume. To choose rather than endure. <\/p>\n\n

The obvious answer I had on hand: Minecraft<\/span><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

Not because it’s “educational” in the way reassuring adults use that word. But because Minecraft<\/span> is the only digital world where a 9-year-old can build something with their own hands, decide with their peers, manage a project, plant a seed and watch it grow. It’s real. It’s tangible. <\/p>\n\n

So I set up a server. On Jelastic<\/span>, hosted in Geneva, with Infomaniak<\/span>. Renewable energy, data in Switzerland, zero ads, zero tracking. Because if we want to teach kids to choose ethical tools, we might as well start by giving them one. <\/p>\n\n

La Piscine 42 for ages 8–15<\/h2>\n\n

The teaching idea that took shape pretty quickly: do for kids what École 42 does for young adults. No lectures. No teacher at the board. An environment, challenges, roles, cooperation. And a method—Play → Explore → Decide → Evaluate → Share—that looks strangely like what agile<\/span> teams have been doing in tech companies for twenty years. <\/p>\n\n

We added a layer of direct democracy (we’re in Switzerland, might as well make the most of it): players vote, decide together where to build, how to govern their village, who takes on which role.
The result? 10-year-olds running sprint<\/span> meetings. It’s beautiful and slightly terrifying. <\/p>\n\n

Where we are today<\/h2>\n\n

The server is running. The method is documented. Institutions have reached out—schools, foundations, Addiction Suisse. The site is under construction, but the foundations are solid.
So this first post is a worthy replacement for the original WordPress placeholder, which simply said: “Our website is under heavy development<\/strong>.”
<\/p>\n\n

That was true. It still is, a little.
But the digital world we’re trying to build here already exists.<\/p>\n\n

Hello world.<\/h2>\n\n

Gad Lab<\/strong> · Minecraft<\/span> · Lausanne · 2025 – ∞<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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