Womenize! Games and Film

The current thinking on diversity is that it is an external force advocating for inclusion, but the reality of authentic representation is that it must be part of the narrative conception and design process. New stories and new perspectives are not simply nice-to-haves or ways to check certain inclusive boxes; they are a form of innovation and of creating truly groundbreaking games.

In this session, writer and narrative designer Kim Belair guides you through her own experiences as a minority creator, highlights the pitfalls that often see developers telling the same old story, and offers solutions to help craft stronger narratives and recruit new voices.

A flash course on the role and makeup of a narrative designer, plus top tips for breaking into the industry.

For most people making their way into careers in games, tech and media there are common obstacles we rarely are taught of. So most of us find out the hard way, that the biggest obstacles are lying within ourselves - and that at the same time that it is hard to know, where to draw the line between inner obstacles and external constraints to be fought with.

Phoenix Perry, Co-founder of Code Liberation Foundation, activist and University Professor at the University of the Arts, London, will walk you through different questions and techniques to get some of the biggest obstacles out of the way, which we usually tend to put up for ourselves.

On many discussions the focus is on how to start careers the right way, but this discussion will focus more in what lies ahead further down the road. Which are the best practices the panelists gathered in their professional careers for tackling career challenges like the glass ceiling, gender bias and - as the recent discussions have shown - simple bleak harassment?

Hosted by Viola Tensil

This panel is not intended as „humorous self help group“, like these discussions have been held on tech conferences for years - but to give actionable advice to newcomers and seniors in the field of working in games, film, tech and media.

Hosted by Tim Rittmann

Local companies and institutions such as Mediennetzwerk NRW, Ubisoft, Flying Sheep Studios, Massive Miniteam, SAE, games.nrw and Mediengründerzentrum NRW are looking for new employees to enhance their teams, new students or new projects to fund! Find out who they are looking for at this "reversed" pitching session!