Games for Change

Last week, Anima Interactive had the honor of presenting a demo of our debut original video game project American Dream (code name!) at the United Nations. Many thanks to Kevin Truong, Susanna Pollack, and the team at Games for Change for the opportunity! It was deeply inspiring to meet values-aligned folks from across the social impact, education, and entertainment sectors and explore ways we can harness the power of interactive media to contribute to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. American Dream (code name) is a narrative adventure/survival game that follows the journeys of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers on their way to cross the US-Mexico border. We're mindful this is a heavy-hitting topic and are committed to portraying it sensitively, respectfully, and authentically. This subject matter is deeply personal to many members of our development team, and we are collaborating with migrants with lived experience, anthropologists, and experts in migration. Our goal is to capture the humanity, complexity, and nuance and foster greater awareness and empathy around issues that are unfortunately too often reduced in mainstream media to statistics or divisive rhetoric. Our mission with American Dream extends beyond making a game - we strive to contribute to a broader cultural conversation, debunk myths around migration, and shift hearts and minds around some of the most critical issues of our time. American Dream has garnered early-stage support from Xbox Game Studios Publishing, Cinereach, and Clever Endeavour Games; however, we are seeking additional funders and collaborators in order to fully realize our vision. If you or anyone you know might be interested in supporting and/or getting involved, please feel free to reach out to me directly. You can also subscribe to our mailing list on anima-interactive.com to stay informed about project updates and formal announcements. Words cannot adequately express my appreciation to everyone who has contributed to this labor of love, especially the wonderful team at Anima (please be sure to follow us on socials, as we will announce team members soon!), our advisors and mentors, and the teams at ID@Xbox, Clever Endeavour, and Cinereach. We would not have been able to reach this milestone without you, and I'm immensely excited to continue this journey together.

Super excited to announce that Take Action Global has teamed up with Games for Change and World Food Programme to #OutplayHunger! Taking on #SDG2, #SDG4, #SDG12, and #SDG13! Honored to author three new lessons for global classrooms on food security, school nutrition, and food waste! Read more about our theme and the student challenge: https://lnkd.in/gQnznZhg #ClimateActionEdu #ClimateAction #foodjustice #GlobalGoals #TeachSDGs #ClimateActionDay Koen Timmers, FRSA Kayla Henn Hila Davies Lindsay Zilly Darko Petrovic Leah Hirsch Arana Shapiro Marissa Harts Cate Tolnai, MAT Katherine Centore Nicole Loher Riley Justis, Ph.D. Felisa Ford

Last week, I had the privilege of hosting the 2nd Annual Games and SDG Summit at the UN Delegates Dining Room, bringing together an incredible community of changemakers committed to advancing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals through games and immersive media. The numbers tell a powerful story: 180 thought leaders from 130+ organizations and 15 countries came together to explore how we can leverage the power of gaming for global good. It was truly inspiring to see leaders from gaming companies, UN agencies, nonprofits, and humanitarian organizations working side by side to develop solutions for global challenges - and I'm deeply grateful to every speaker and attendee who brought such energy and expertise to these discussions. But the Summit wasn't just a one-day event - it's the beginning of ongoing collaborations that will shape how technology can drive meaningful change. We're excited to share a post-event report soon and continue the momentum with regular check-ins throughout the year. None of this would have been possible without the incredible work of the Games for Change team, my co-emcee Anjali Bhimani, and our production partners at Empire Entertainment. Their dedication to bringing this vision to life created an unforgettable experience that set the stage for meaningful collaboration. And a big heartfelt thank you to our partners World Food Programme, UNICEF, UNESCO, THE CHOPRA FOUNDATION, 8one Foundation, and the Geena Davis Institute, and to our sponsors Discord, Hasbro, Unity, Entertainment Software Association, Xsolla, Mosaicx, and Zebra Partners for making this vision a reality. #SDGs #GamingForGood #UnitedNations #GamesforChange

Discover all things tabletop with Brendon Trombley! 🎲 Join us on November 6 at 6 PM for "Modding Tabletop Games for Impact." In this hands-on session, you’ll: 🔧 Learn how to create non-digital learning games by "modding" existing tabletop games. 💻 Gain practical experience with prototyping and playtesting—perfect for understanding student challenges in the #G4CStudent Challenge. 🧰 Walk away with strategies to help students overcome common design hurdles, and discover how to use tabletop games as a foundation for creating new impact-driven games. Don’t wait—sign up today! https://buff.ly/3YQu2em #BoardGames #TabletopGames #STEMEducation #Prototyping #Playtesting #GameBasedLearning

É com imensa alegria que anuncio que o projeto Ai-Monguetá, desenvolvido em parceria com Rodrigo de Almeida Siqueira, foi selecionado pelo edital da Fundação Itaú 🎉 🎉 🎉 Ai-Monguetá é uma iniciativa que visa construir uma plataforma educacional colaborativa, trazendo agentes de conversação inspirados em figuras marcantes da cultura brasileira. Imaginem: alunos criando e interagindo com personagens virtuais baseados em nomes da literatura, das ciências e das artes do Brasil. Esses agentes, alimentados por inteligência artificial generativa, oferecerão uma experiência de aprendizado personalizada e envolvente, adaptada às realidades da educação pública brasileira. Serei responsável pela coordenação educativa da plataforma, garantindo que ela promova engajamento, criatividade, tecnodiversidade e aprendizado significativo. Rodrigo, que possui mais de 30 anos de experiência em inteligência artificial, liderará o desenvolvimento técnico, assegurando uma plataforma robusta e acessível a todos. O que propomos:  - Valorização da cultura brasileira: os agentes de conversação refletirão a riqueza e diversidade de nosso patrimônio cultural.  - Aprendizado personalizado: professores e alunos poderão escolher os personagens e conteúdos mais adequados às suas necessidades.  - Colaboração: os alunos se tornarão protagonistas na construção do conhecimento com o apoio da IA.  - Maior acessibilidade: a plataforma estará disponível como aplicativo móvel e site, acessível em diversos dispositivos. Ai-Monguetá é um projeto que visa democratizar o acesso à IA, promover inclusão e equidade na educação, e preparar os alunos para um futuro em que a tecnologia desempenha um papel central. Acompanhem conosco essa jornada! 🏄♀️

Great to catch up with @hiphopgamer Gerrard Williams at Games for Change summit at the @unitednations He’s doing great work with young people in the #USA

🌟 Exciting Learnings from Games for Change and Minecraft Education Training! 🎮✨ I recently had the opportunity to attend the Games for Change Introduction to Minecraft Coding webinar, where I delved into the innovative world of Minecraft Education. The training focused on how to leverage this popular game as a powerful tool for coding education. Throughout the sessions, I learned various techniques to integrate Minecraft into educational frameworks, enabling students to explore coding concepts in a fun and interactive way. The hands-on activities were not only engaging but also highlighted the potential of games to foster creativity and problem-solving skills. It's inspiring to see how platforms like Minecraft can transform traditional learning methods and make coding accessible to all. I'm looking forward to applying these insights in future educational endeavors. #GamesForChange #MinecraftEducation #Coding #EdTech #InnovationInEducation #ProfessionalDevelopment

🌟 Attention #Teachers! Looking for a way to engage students in STEAM and social impact? The Games for Change Student Challenge is a unique opportunity to bring real-world problem-solving into your classroom through GameDesign! Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this competition helps students develop coding, creativity, collaboration skills, and more! 🎮 🌎 Learn more and sign up at: https://buff.ly/3UjhKZi STEAMeducation #TeacherResources #SDGs #GameDesign

Thank you so much to Susanna Pollack and Kris Severson for inviting me to the Games for Change Games & SDG Summit at the United Nations in NY this week. The work you all are doing is amazing. Of the many notable moments during the event, the realization that so many people out there that are doing big, impactful things...started out their careers in completely other areas. This goes in both directions, as it relates to the games industry, btw. In fact, many of the presenters had no prior games experience, but showcased how video games were a positive force for their specific initiatives...whereas others from the games industry were leveraging that expertise - applying it to areas like combating hunger, climate change, inequalities of all sorts. Pretty cool. Learn more about Games For Change, and all the things they do...by clicking this blue thing --> https://lnkd.in/gui7SdJN