Community Talks: "Rethinking the Role of Gaming in International Development"

In this talk, Allie Weis shares a behind-the-scenes look at the first edition of Roots & Pixels, a VLIRUOS ITP (International Training Project) connecting female-identifying game developers from Belgium, South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda.

The project featured a week of masterclasses/interactive workshops and ended with a ‘game jam’ in which groups of female developers created 4 different playable video games in 3.5 days – all focused on the theme of ‘Outgrow Hunger’ (in collaboration with Games for Change and the World Food Programme).

The main goals of the project are the following: Catalyse sustainable collaboration between European and African game developers/technical creators, empower female developers, and demonstrate the power of creating games for impact.

During the session, she’ll share a mix of practical tips, honest lessons learned, and what she hopes to accomplish for the next edition.

Tune in if you’d like to hear more about a somewhat unconventional ITP (yes, video games and sustainable development can go hand-in-hand!) and/or would like to hear tips & tricks from a first-time ITP organiser. 

Mrs Allie Weis is the Ethics Coordinator in International Game Development and Internships Coordinator at Howest University of Applied Sciences: Digital Arts and Entertainment (DAE) in Kortrijk, Belgium.

Register here