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20011 G4C Festival Call For Content: Serious Games For Social Change


Via: Games for Change (G4C)

Often called “the Sundance of Video Games”, the Games for Change Annual Festival brings together leaders from government, philanthropy, civil society, academia, and the game industry to explore the increasing real-world impact of Serious Games as an agent for social change.

The Festival is also a showcase for some of the most innovative new games in development. The only festival dedicated to the exciting movement using Serious Games for Social Change, the 8th annual Games for Change Festival will take place in New York on June 20-22:

- Monday, June 20 will be a day-long Pre-Festival Summit: introduction to the use of digital games and game design tools to promote social change and learning.

- Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22 are the core Festival dates.

To submit content to the 2011 Festival - either a speaking engagement, a nomination for the 2nd Annual Award show or a game demo - please refer to G4C "Call for Content" and follow the detailed guidelines as you may find below:

 
8th Annual Games for Change Festival 2011 Call for Content: Speaking, Awards, Demos
Posted by Jeff Ramos on 02-02-11

With the 8th Annual Games for Change Festival (June 20-22) inching closer every day we’re excited to take the next step in preparations. Today we’re putting out the official Call for Content so you can participate in the event.
 
First and foremost, the deadline to submit your proposal is March 14th. Those interested in being part of the 2011 Festival have the chance to participate in three different categories: Speaking, the 2nd Annual Games for Change Awards and Demo Spotlight.
 
Here is a breakdown of each category:
 
1. Speaking (Presentations, Panels, Case studies)
 
The Games for Change Festival is known for the vibrant discussions and presentations that happen every year. This year we are also interested in creative approaches to the format of the session. Some suggested topics are: games to promote real-world action, transmedia, games for underserved communities, games in education, political and news games, games as art and an expressive medium, measuring and assessing social change, distribution, skepticism around the premise of Games for Change, and more.
 
2. The 2nd Annual Games for Change Awards
 
To take part in our 2nd annual awards, all submitted games must have been released (or scheduled for release) between June 2009 and June 2011. Finalists will be announced prior to the festival and a distinguished jury of game makers, funders, researchers and talent will select the winner in each category. The award ceremony will take place on June 22nd in New York City, will be streamed live and covered by international and national media.
 
3. Demo Spotlight
 
This year we are looking to highlight 5 - 7 projects that are “in progress” and have the potential of becoming the next success stories in our genre. This will be a great opportunity to get feedback and share your work with the Games for Change community. Developers will be presenting their games to a panel of funders and designers for live feedback.
 
If you are interested in submitting a proposal, check out the PDF below for full details, guidelines and the appropriate e-mail addresses for submission.
   
Questions can be sent to the appropriate e-mail address listed in the PDF. And as a reminder - the deadline for content is March 14th. Good luck and see you at the Festival!
 
FESTIVAL BACKGROUND
 
A growing movement is using Serious Games for positive social change. As digital games at large become a mainstream form of media, just as film did decades ago, the social change community is also embracing them as powerful and distinctive tools.
 
Created in 2004, Games for Change (G4C) provides support, visibility and shared resources to individuals and organizations using digital games for social change, with special assistance to non-profits and foundations entering the field.
 
Over the past seven years, G4C has been building the field around these new uses of games. They've hosted events and made presentations at the largest industry conference (E3/Los Angeles/Ed Arcade), the largest developers’ conference (GDC/San Francisco/SGS) and the new academic roundtable on Games, Society and Learning (Madison, WI). The work of G4C has been presented at such diverse events as Hollywood Hill, the Sundance Film Festival and the World Economic Forum Davos, and will be shown at upcoming conferences around the world including DIGRA - Tokyo and Global Contents Forum - Seoul.