NEW YORK (October, 2021) — Games for Change (G4C) launched Game Exchange, a virtual program for teens in the United States, Bahrain, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates. Students from the four countries will come together to create social impact games in an educational cross-cultural exchange program facilitated by classroom teachers trained in G4C’s game design curriculum.
“Games and game design have the potential to connect people across cultures, languages, and identities. With the support of the Stevens Initiative in the U.S. and our powerhouse partners in the MENA region, Game Exchange will reach nearly 3,000 middle and high school students over two years,” said G4C President Susanna Pollack. “This program will help students gain global competencies and develop key 21st century skills that they need to thrive in today’s increasingly interconnected world.”
Game Exchange’s international partners, who are leading programming locally and bringing together young people in each country, include:
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U.S. (Atlanta, Detroit, and New York City): Games for Change
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Bahrain: Ministry of Youth & Sports and Bahrain Polytechnic
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Israel: Beit Berl College and Shenkar College
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United Arab Emirates: Aldar Education and ADGaming
"Our school is very focused on culturally-relevant teaching and social-emotional learning. Game Exchange will offer our students the opportunity to connect with teenagers from another culture, and expand those skills,“ said John Exume, a participating educator at Robert H. Goddard High School of Communication Arts and Technology in Queens, New York City. “We want our students to see how much they have in common with students around the world, and this is a perfect opportunity for them to sharpen their coding, game design, and collaboration skills!"
In the program, students will work together to design games that help address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which will be organized under three overarching themes:
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Human Rights
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Sustainable Societies
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Healthy Planet
Games for Change is currently providing professional development for a group of educators across the four participating countries to support them in implementing the Game Exchange curriculum in school-based and after-school courses. In addition to the courses, students will participate in local game jams, receive mentorship by game industry professionals, and submit their original games to a global competition for the chance to win prizes and receive international recognition.
Learn more about Game Exchange on the G4C Website.
Game Exchange is supported by the Stevens Initiative, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government, and is administered by the Aspen Institute. The Stevens Initiative is also supported by the Bezos Family Foundation and the governments of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
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About Games For Change
Since 2004, Games For Change (G4C) has empowered game creators and innovators to
drive real-world change — using games and immersive media to help people learn, improve
their communities, and make the world a better place. G4C partners with technology and gaming companies, nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies to run world-class events, public arcades, design challenges, and youth programs. G4C supports a global community of game developers working on using games to tackle real-world challenges, from humanitarian conflicts to climate change and education.
About the Stevens Initiative
The Stevens Initiative is an international leader in virtual exchange, which brings young people from diverse places together to collaborate and connect through everyday technology. Created in 2015 as a lasting tribute to Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the Initiative invests in virtual exchange programs between the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA); shares research, resources, and promising practices to improve impact; and advocates for broader adoption. Through its 86 grants, the Stevens Initiative will expand its reach by summer 2023 to nearly 75,000 young people in 17 MENA countries and the Palestinian Territories, and in 47 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, one tribal community, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C. Learn more: https://www.stevensinitiative.org/
International partners:
Aldar Education (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
As the leading education group in Abu Dhabi, Aldar Education provides inclusive and innovative learning that inspires and empowers communities. We educate over 24,000 students across our group of 20 owned and managed schools in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Working collaboratively, our purpose is to empower the next generation to shape our future, directly supporting the educational goals of Abu Dhabi’s government. Today, Aldar Education’s efforts are guided by the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 plan, which aims to build a sustainable knowledge-based economy through premium education.
ADGaming (Khalifa Park, Abu Dhabi, UAE)
ADGaming is a collaborative, Government-led, initiative that aggregates the broad efforts throughout Abu Dhabi to drive and build a self-sustaining gaming and e-sports ecosystem, transforming Abu Dhabi into a global gaming hub.
Beit Berl (Beit Berl)
Beit Berl College is a multidisciplinary college focused on training educators while spearheading new developments in education, society, and the arts. We see education as a vehicle for social mobility, equality, and justice for all sectors of Israeli society.
Shenkar College (Israel)
Shenkar College is a top-ranked Israeli college for Engineering and Design. The combination of the faculties of engineering, design, and art underlies the unique academic multidisciplinary nature of the institution, facilitating students and lecturers to connect groundbreaking technologies with contemporary design and artistic conceptions. Shenkar offers a unique Master's Degree program, the only one of its kind in Israel, which allows working towards a master’s degree in the academic study of digital games.
Bahrain Polytechnic (Kingdom of Bahrain)
The Bahrain Government has established Bahrain Polytechnic to address the need for a skilled Bahraini labor force to support economic growth and diversification; it delivers applied, professional and technical qualifications. Graduates will be work-ready, confident, competent, aware of what is expected of them in the professional world, and perform to their full potential. Programs, qualifications, and courses, and the underlying methodology of how they are delivered are developed in consultation with businesses, industries, professions, international education, and training institutions.
Ministry of Youth & Sports Affairs (Manama Kingdom of Bahrain)
The King Hamad Award for Empowerment of Youth to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals was launched at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, at the opening session of the Sixth Social and Economic Council Youth Forum. The civil sector and individuals should pay attention to and contain young people to encourage improving the infrastructure related to youth, in addition to activating the role of young people and motivate them to enter strongly into the process of implementing the sustainable development goals identified by the United Nations.
Press contact:
g4c@mcpstrategies.com