The Games For Change Festival
Since 2004, Games for Change has hosted the Games for Change Festival in New York. Often referred to as “the Sundance of Video Games”, the Games for Change Annual Festival is the biggest gaming event in New York City. It brings together leaders from government, corporations, philanthropy, civil society, media, academia, and the gaming industry to explore the increasing real-world impact of digital games as an agent for social change. In recent years, the Games for Change Festival has become the most important place to launch a new initiative because it is the best way to connect with the various stakeholders in the field. The festival also showcases some of the most innovative new games in production with its annual “Demo Spotlight,” which gives select game developers the opportunity to present their projects on the main stage of the festival to a panel of designers and funders for feedback.
The recent 8th Annual Festival (June 20–22, 2011) featured more than 40 hours of content: talks, game case studies, workshops, a live game arcade, the 2nd Annual Games for Change Awards Show, and social events. Vice President at the time, Al Gore delivered the opening keynote. Other featured speakers included Pulitzer Prize-winning author Sheryl WuDunn (Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide), Laura Pincus Hartman of Zynga.org, game guru Jesse Schell, and James H. Shelton III of the US Department of Education.
Past festivals have included talks by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, author and journalist Nicholas Kristof, and more. Past festival archive can be found at the organization’s festival page.
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