Games for Change and Connected Learning Lab launched their new initiative Raising Good Gamers last summer to tackle online toxicity and “to help ignite a movement for creating a more diverse, inclusive and positive online environment for youth.”
To assist in this daunting endeavor, Raising Good Gamers has added over 30 experts to their advisory board. “We are thrilled to bring together such a diverse advisory board to Raising Good Gamers representing multiple sectors, including teen ambassadors whose voices will be at the center of the coalition,” said Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change and co-founder of Raising Good Gamers.
The advisory board includes a rich variety of backgrounds, companies, and organizations, including Dan Ayoub (General Manager, Microsoft Education), Sara DeWitt (Vice President, PBS Kids Digital), Laura Higgins (Director of Community Safety, Roblox), Daniel Kelley (Associate Director, Anti-Defamation League), Vu Bui (Chief Media Officer, Mojang Studios), and Laura Shabir (CEO, Girls Make Games).
Raising Good Gamers has produced an initial outline and roadmap for tackling the issues plaguing online interactions. “We see online games, their technologies, and communities of gamers as important and powerful tools for achieving broader goals of social justice,” said Katie Salen Tekinbaş, co-founder, Raising Good Games. “It is essential that we continue to better understand how we, as the industry’s gatekeepers, can make these online play environments inclusive and equitable for all where peers, parents, and educators play active roles as mentors, moderators, and role models.”
The first step is analyzing and understanding the current ecosystem across the gaming industry, including any tools or programs already in place by developers, and establishing the best practices for publishers, sponsors, streamers, and gamers.
The RGG Report states: “We have an obligation to ensure that as online games become more social and take on a role as the public square, and as young people grow up and through online game environments, we learn both from lessons of the past and also from promising visions of the future.”
