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Find out how the GDC team is working to ensure GDC 2021 has a positive social and environmental impact with this year’s all-digital event.
July 16, 2021
3 Min Read
The organizers of the all-digital Game Developers Conference (running July 19th – 23rd) would like to announce their intent for a number of initiatives at GDC 2021 aimed at having a positive social and environmental impact on the game development community and the world.
For years, the GDC team has taken steps to both make sure it is creating a safe space for all and supporting underrepresented voices and work in the industry, and reducing the event’s carbon footprint to produce a more sustainable event.
The organizers have taken the following steps to achieve these goals with this year’s all-digital conference.
New Voices Across the Conference: As conference organizers, we want to support the game industry by ensuring all attendees feel welcome and included at the Game Developers Conference and we are always looking for new, diverse voices.
Supporting Social Advocacy: GDC attendees can expect access to a diverse array of talks aimed at supporting aspiring game devs and highlighting broader issues of social advocacy in the game industry
Scholarships and Community Partnerships: Each year, GDC proudly partners with a variety of organizations through which qualified candidates can apply to receive a complimentary GDC pass. These partners are helping to shape the future of the industry by providing opportunities to and amplifying the work of game developers from underrepresented communities.
For this year’s event, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve distributed over 600 scholarships through our Community Partners.
Be sure to visit these partners at their GDC 2021 booths to learn more about their respective missions.
The Low Income Pass Lottery: The return of GDC 2021 means the return of the Low-Income Pass lottery–a long-running process to ensure developers from less-advantaged financial backgrounds can attend this year’s show. This year we’re pleased to announce we’ve given out 70 passes through the lottery system.
Closed Captioning Accessibility Improvements: We’ve built on our closed-captioning technology used at GDC Summer and GDC 2021 to offer more closed captions in more languages across more sessions.
International Accessibility: GDC 2021’s online presence allows attendees to visit from anywhere in the world, bringing in a higher percentage of international attendees than the in-person San Francisco event.
The topics of diversity and sustainability are inextricably linked, as climate change disproportionately impacts communities underrepresented in the video game industry.
To that end, we’ve also taken these steps to improve our event’s sustainability:
No printed attendee or exhibitor materials for this event: GDC 2021 has been structured to require no printed or plastic materials to be shipped to attendees or exhibitors.
Digital Tote Bags: Additionally, the contents of a normal GDC promotional tote bag have been recreated in an exclusively digital format for attendees.
GDC 2021 limits travel-related emissions Thanks to the virtual format, GDC 2021 generates zero travel-related emissions. Attendees are able to view the event at home on their own devices, and GDC 2021 Organizers are able to work from their home offices or the broadcast studios in Portland and Dallas.
We hope you’ll join us in our goal of having a positive environmental and social impact on both the communities and industries we work within.
For more details on GDC 2021 visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.
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