London Police, Microsoft & EA Form Community Gaming Initiative

The Riverside Safer Neighborhoods team of London's Metropolitan Police has begun testing a new initiative in Southwark called Project Gamerz, which aims to encourage youth involvement in community through video games and interactive entertainment. Project Gamerz intends to build a social network that encourages people age 11 to 18 who live or attend school in the Riverside Ward of Rotherhithe to connect with their local community. The Metropolitan Police have partnered with interactive entertainment broadcast network XLeague.TV, along with Microsoft, EA Sports, Packard Bell and TNWA Group to provide games, consoles, equipment and other support for online gaming events that will encourage kids to interact and work together. At Project Gamerz activities, kids will be encouraged to use group work, problem-solving, communication, strategy and teamwork, and the event organizers hope that the game-focused environment will appeal to modern youth culture. Ray Mia, channel head of XLeague.TV explained: “We were approached by The Metropolitan Police to use our unique expertise in scoping a community focused project, using video gaming as a tool to engage with local youth. We’ve consistently seen that online video gaming has a positive effect on bringing young people together, and provides a platform that builds focus, teamwork, leadership and confidence."