NEW YORK, New York, 26 July 2012 — the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the MIT Education Arcade, and Learning Games Network today launched Create UNAOC 2012,
an international competition for app and game developers to produce
apps and mobile games that enable new avenues for intercultural
dialogue.
The aim of the project is to identify opportunities through
innovative tools that promote intercultural dialogue, drawing on unique
cultural resources and experiences of developers around the world. Five
finalist apps and games will be selected by an international jury,
awarded funds for producers to refine their creations and played by
delegates of the 5th Annual UNAOC Forum in Vienna, Austria, 27-28
February 2013. The global competition will accept submissions through
the end of November 2012.
“Successful intercultural dialogue is essential to help us navigate
the unprecedented challenges of the 21st Century world,” said Marc
Scheuer, Director of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. “Apps
and games afford powerful new tools and experiences to explore the
dynamic and challenging processes that enable individuals and groups
with different cultural backgrounds to engage in an open and respectful
exchange of views, to share experiences and to develop a better
understanding of each others’ aspirations and better practices of living
together. We are eager to see what young and new developers can
contribute to the global conversation.”
The UNAOC and its organizing partners want to encourage developers to
think of ways that new apps and games can be used to support such
pursuits as gender equality, youth development, migrant integration,
religious pluralism, better understanding among individuals of different
cultural and religious backgrounds, biased media representation of
cultures and religions, and education.
Apps and games submitted will be reviewed by an international jury
and measured on whether: (1) potential users would be given a novel
experience to creatively and thoughtfully share perspectives on
intercultural and global issues; (2) how content and commentary relate
to historical or current events, as well as (3) how the apps and games
provide new perspectives that support intercultural dialogue.
Registration and Submission Requirements
Developers may register to participate in the competition between 27 July and 30 November 2012 at http://www.CreateUNAOC.org.
Developers may register as an individual or as a team with a maximum of
eight (8) collaborators. Registrants must be 13 years of age or older. A
video walk-through (i.e., screen capture) or PowerPoint/Keynote
presentation of a working app or game alpha or beta prototype built in
HTML5 should be submitted for competition by 30 November 2012. Note: Developers are not required to submit actual working apps/games on authorized development devices to the UNAOC.
Five (5) apps/games in HTML5 will be selected as finalists by 3
January 2013. Developers will be notified and awarded $5,000 (US) per
app to complete development of a fully functional app/game by 15
February 2013. Apps/games will be played and rated by participants
during the 2013 UNAOC Forum in Vienna, Austria (27-28 February 2013). A
Grand Prize will be awarded. All apps/games submitted to the challenge
competition will be featured on the website before and after the Forum
in Vienna.
“We are excited by the global network of creative and technical
professionals, scholars, NGOs, media companies, and others, who have
come together to inform and promote the Create UNAOC Challenge,” said
Jordi Torrent, UNAOC Media Literacy and Education Project Manager. “As
we explore new ways to engage citizens of the world in the UNAOC’s
charter work, our jurors and partners help to expand our understanding
of new media and reach young people and producers who are pursuing
exciting new projects that can be used to effectively support
intercultural dialogue.”
International Jury and Outreach Partners
Create UNAOC jurors include: Deborah Bergamini,
Member, Council of Europe (Italy), Jan Keulen, General Director, Doha
Centre for Media Freedom (Qatar), Sanjana Hattotuwa, Senior Researcher,
Centre for Policy Alternatives (Sri Lanka), Eric Klopfer, Professor, MIT
(United States), Solana Larsen, Managing Editor, Global Voices
(Switzerland), Anthony Lilley, Chief Executive Officer, Magic Lantern
(United Kingdom), Alfonso Molina, Fundazione Mondo Digitale (Italy),
Savita Nair, Professor, Furman University (United States), Wu Heping,
Dean, College of International Exchanges, Northwest Normal University
(China).
Initial outreach partners include: Global Voices (Netherlands),
Fundazione Mondo Digitale (Italy), Voice of America (United States), ICT
for Peace (Switzerland), John Lennon Educational Tour Bus (United
States), Doha Centre for Media Freedom (Qatar).
Media Contact:
Michael Suen
Learning Games Network
617.494.4946 / suen@learninggamesnetwork.org
Michael Suen
Learning Games Network
617.494.4946 / suen@learninggamesnetwork.org
Moreinfo: http://www.unaoc.org
