The Games for Change 2020 festival announced a number of sessions scheduled to take place at the event next month. The announced sessions cover topics affecting a number of aspects of modern life, including racial injustice, coronavirus, accessibility, and mental health.
Games for Change 2020 will take place virtually from July 14–16. The event is free to attend, and will feature more than 150 industry experts across more than 100 sessions. Sessions are categorized into four programming tracks: health and wellness, games for learning, civics and social issues, and XR for change. The full event lineup can be found here.
Those looking to attend this year’s festival can sign up here.
Speakers at Games for Change 2020 come from all sorts of backgrounds. Some of the speakers include Microsoft’s Dan Ayoub and Jaron Lanier, Niantic’s Yennie Solheim, Time Magazine’s Mia Tramz, and the Anti Defamation League’s Daniel Kelley. The youngest speaker at the festival will be 17-year-old Winston Matthews, who has experience with virtual reality. Dr. Courtney Cogburn will present a new keynote this year about using virtual reality to foster anti-racism. Another new keynote from Colleen Macklin is about games that are rooted in diversity that everyone should play.
About Games for Change
Games for Change is a non-profit organization which was founded in 2004. In their own words, Games for Change “empowers game creators and social innovators to drive real-world impact through games and immersive media.” The non-profit hosts the festival annually, and encourages youth to get involved with civic issues and explore STEM fields throughout the year.
“Now in its 17th year, the Games for Change Festival has become a center point for striving to solve today’s most urgent problems – bringing together technologists, advocates, academics and government officials,” said Susanna Pollack, president of Games for Change. “As the world grapples with a pandemic, justice, mental health and inclusivity – the Festival will explore how games and immersive media drive accessibility for all, offer alternatives to pharmaceutical medicine, tackle social injustice and create caring online communities.”
With events and festivals across the world having been cancelled or delayed due to coronavirus, it’s nice to see some events are still ongoing in a virtual capacity.
