A panel featuring individuals from some of the organisations and initiatives working to promote diversity within the games industry.
About this Event
For our October Game On event we will be hosting a panel to discuss the steps that can be taken to promote, support and increase diversity in the video games industry. We are delighted to be hosting representatives from BalancePatch, POC in Play, Putting the G into Gaming and Women in Games.
The aim of the event is to highlight some of the action that is being taken to address diversity in the industry and to provide attendees with practical tips and resources for creating and nurturing diverse and inclusive teams. After the panel there will be the opportunity to socialise/network.The discussion points will include:
- What actions have been taken by the organisations/groups/initiatives represented
- Discussion of the challenges we face as part of the games industry and what we can do as individuals and a wider group to help promote diversity
- Q & A session
The panellists are:
Nida Ahmad (POC in Play)
Nida is a User Experience Designer dedicated to the psychology and accessibility of UX and game design with a love for user research and fun interactions.
She is part of the founding team of POC in Play, an initiative to increase the inclusion of people of colour in the games industry. She is also a member of BAFTA Crew Games, has been a juror for the BAFTA Young Game Designers Awards and is a regular speaker at events advocating for UX and demystifying how to get into games.
Marie-Claire Isaaman (Women in Games)
Marie-Claire is CEO of Women in Games (WiGJ), a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2009. WiGJ provides effective encouragement, support and advocacy for women and girls throughout the UK’s game industries and educational pipeline.
She is a game equality & diversity pioneer, is on the BGU Advisory Board and is an education and diversity consultant.
Leon Killin (BalancePatch)
Leon is a gay trans man with ten years experience working on inclusivity and accessibility projects. He holds a Masters in Sexuality and Global studies from the University of Sussex and has an academic background spanning popular culture, feminist thoery, LBGTQ+ history and queer theory.He is the founder of BalancePatch; an equality, diversity and inclusivity advice and consultancy service specifically for the games industry. BalancePatch works with studios and organisations to create and maintain healthy working environments for everyone.
Liz Prince (Amiqus / Putting the G into Gaming)
Liz is Business Manager at the award winning games industry specialist recruitment agency, Amiqus.
She is founder of Putting the G into Gaming (GiG), a campaign to build more gender diverse and inclusive workplaces in games with actionable steps.
Khally Saarman-Jones (Payload Studios / Game On), Chair
Khally is part of the Payload Studios team, makers of TerraTech and creators of The Tentacle Zone.
She is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the video games industry and is co-founder and host of the Game On initiative. She is passionate about educating herself and others about what steps can be taken to ensure a welcoming games industry that attracts and retains a talented and diverse workforce.
Doors at 18:00| Panel starts at 18:45 | Event Ends 20:45
This panel is part of our Game On series of events which focus on diversity in the video games industry. The initiative is run from Payload Studios and is hosted by studio members Khally and Sammi. If you’d like to find out more about what we’re doing and why please read this blog post.
Tickets are free and attendance is open to all members of the games industry who are interested in the steps we can take to improve diversity within the industry. We encourage you to share the event details with other members of the industry who may be interested in attending.
This event is for individuals who work in the games industry. Registrations will be verified.
If you have any questions about the event please contact Khally (Khally@payloadstudios.com).