According to the official annual report of the EGDF (European Game Developers Federation), Serbia is the leading European country when it comes to hiring female talent in the gaming industry with 30% of positions held by women, while the global average is still around 18%. However, there is always room for improvement. We want to see even more girls and women who are inspired to join the fastest growing technology and creative industry in the world.
We should all work on this together, and video games as a career should be talked about at all levels – in education, within the industry, but also in other spheres of society. That is why we dedicate March 24 to these topics. We are expecting three events, live in Belgrade, in cooperation with partners from Sweden and Croatia.
This edition of the SGA Empowers program is presented in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden in Belgrade and the Swedish Institute, in partnership with the special Tekla program. These workshops, as well as the festival of the same name, aim to increase the number of women and girls in the IT industry, bring STEM education closer to young girls and strengthen their role in the development of the digital society.
SGA Empowers, a program through which SGA will continuously support greater involvement of girls and women in the game development industry, as well as other “creative tech” industries, presents these three activities:
How do we make games?
Workshop for highschool students
With the support of mentors from leading gaming companies in Serbia (Ubosift, Nordeus, Two Desperados), 20 high school students will have the opportunity to learn how to work on video games, and in the practical part of the workshop they will work on their game concepts. The goal of the workshop is to get better acquainted with the work of gaming teams, but also to discover where their hidden talents lie – whether in game design, art, programming or organization.
The workshop is conducted using methodologies and work materials developed within the Tekla platform. KTH (Royal Institute of Technology) and the Swedish Institute have been organizing Tekla events since 2019. In these workshops, girls can construct, create and test projects using technology in an environment where they are able to take on any of the roles in the process. It is an environment in which they will be inspired by female role models who lead the workshops themselves. Such a workshop will be organized within the SGA Empowers program.
Workshop applications and more detailed information are here.
#IamRemarkable – proud of my success!
Workshop for women employed in the gaming industry
#IamRemarkable is a global initiative by Google that seeks to empower everyone, especially women and underrepresented groups, to celebrate and discuss their achievements in the workplace and beyond.
What many women cite as a hurdle is just that – the inability to stand behind their successes, which they often justify for various reasons, by mere coincidence. What experts call “intruder syndrome”. These prevent them from advancing, advocating for themselves, seeking promotion or advancement, and negatively affects their career development in the long run, whether they are game designers, programmers, seniors or just entering the gaming industry.
Workshop applications and more detailed information are here.
How we made it in games
Public panel discussion
Inclusivity, diversity and strong representation are useful not only at the level of team culture, but also the development of ecosystems and the placement of well-designed products competitive in the global market, to which gamers will return – and which they will love. This is the dialogue we want to have together, with all members of the local gaming ecosystem.
The panel session is moderated by the President of the SGA Board Marija Ilić, and we invited prominent women who participate in various ways in the development of the local and European gaming industry:
- Ana Uzelac, Co-founder- Bunker VFX
- Svetlana Spasić, Lead artist – Webelinx Games
- Dunja Funduk, Brand manager – Playrix RS
- Milica Todorović, Associate producer – Ubisoft, Women in Games
- Johanna Nyllander, Head of Policy and Analytics – Swedish Gaming Industry
More information on the panel here.