TIGA, the network for video games developers and digital publishers and the trade association representing the video games industry, maintains that embracing diversity is essential for the UK games industry to compete globally and to ensure its world leading influence. This message has been supported by computer games experts at the University of Portsmouth.
Dr Mark Eyles, Animation, Games & Enterprise Section Lead, said that supporting diversity of race, culture, disability status, religion, class, sexual orientation and gender is increasingly a priority in the games industry, and that applies just as equally to fictional game characters and in the industry workforce. Dr Eyles is behind the University’s sponsorship of the diversity prize at TIGA’s Games Industry Awards. He said:
“Diversity is at the heart of a twenty first century culture of accelerating globalization, blurring of borders and the increasing importance of the internet as a place where people gather, play and trade. A smart, flexible and increasingly diverse workforce is the engine at the centre of the UK games industry, fed by world leading games courses throughout the UK.
“The University has always been a great supporter of diversity and our students are recruited on their merit, qualifications, competence and talent, regardless of their age, disability, gender, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief or sexual orientation. Our courses follow TIGA’s guidance of having balanced imagery on their course websites, with a more equal mix of genders and ethnicities and imagery that reflects the creative range of the art form.
“Having the opportunity to highlight issues around diversity by being involved in the TIGA Diversity Award is very important for us. We have been working with TIGA for over ten years and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with industry and other institutions in shaping a magnificently diverse future. The University is very proud to sponsor and present the TIGA Diversity Award.”
The 2016 TIGA Games Industry Awards, was held on Thursday 10th November at Christ Church Spitalfields, in the heart of London’s bustling East End. The ceremony is the highlight of the games industry calendar with a ceremony welcoming some of the industry’s biggest names and best known faces.
Ted Turnbull, leads the Computer Games Enterprise course, attended the ceremony on Thursday and presented the Diversity Award to the Next Gen Skills Academy for their Next Gen Aspiring Women programme on behalf of the University of Portsmouth.
Portsmouth University’s courses include Computer Games Technology, Animation, Computer Games Enterprise and Computer Animation & Special Effects, from its School of Creative Technologies.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
About TIGA
TIGA is the network for games developers and digital publishers and the trade association representing the video games industry. Since 2010, TIGA has won 24 business awards and commendations and has been successfully accredited as an Investors in People organisation three times. TIGA focuses on three sets of activities:
- Political representation
- Media representation
- Business services
This enhances the competitiveness of our members by providing benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities. It also means our members’ voices are heard in the corridors of power and positively represented in national, broadcast and UK video games trade media.
Get in touch:
Tel: 0845 468 2330
Email: info@tiga.org
Web: www.tiga.org
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tigamovement
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TIGAMovement
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/tiga
For further information, you can also contact: Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO by email: richard.wilson@tiga.org