Skip to content

Rikomatic

Musings on Dance, Food, Geek Stuff

Menu
  • Follow Me on Instagram
  • My Professional Site RangerRik.com
  • Yehoodi.com Archive
  • Every Roller Rink in California (Map)
Menu

AMD “Changes the Game” through funding non-profit gaming initiatives

Posted on June 2, 2008 by

Amd_ad_gk0608

Computer processor manufacturer AMD today announces their new initiative "Changing the Game" that provides support for non-profits applying gaming technology to address social concerns.  Global Kids is proud to be one of the recipients of one of the grants to support our program "Playing 4 Keeps," that engages a group of New York teens in a particular social issue by having them develop a computer game on that issue.  See the GK website for more information about "Playing 4 Keeps."

Check the video at this link, which features several GK staff and students, including my colleagues Barry, Jay, Radhika and Christina!

 

The full press release from AMD follows…

AMD Foundation Launches ”AMD Changing the Game”
   

New Initiative Designed to Enhance Education Through Game Development
   

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced 
the launch of AMD Changing the Game, the first initiative of the newly formed AMD Foundation. The AMD Changing the Game program is intended to improve critical technical and life skills by teaching kids to develop digital games with social content. The program is rooted in AMD’s commitment and experience in supporting education with the company’s passion and expertise in the gaming industry. The program’s launch accompanies AMD’s sponsorship and participation at the Fifth Annual Games for Change Festival to be held June 3 – 4 at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City.
   

   

AMD Changing the Game is a natural fit for AMD, which features products powering the visual experience of the two most popular gaming consoles in the world today1 and which recently launched AMD GAME!, a program designed to help consumers select perfectly suited PCs for high-definition gaming.
   

“We have a tremendous opportunity to harness the passion that kids have for gaming while teaching the skills they need to be successful in our 21st Century digital economy,” said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and chief operating officer.
 

In addition to technical skills such as science, technology, engineering and math, digital games can be used to help teach youth how to be more engaged citizens, to see conflict from another’s viewpoint and find positive ways to respond to challenging social issues such as poverty, hunger, disease, energy conservation, water use and global warming.
   

“Today’s youth are
highly concerned about social issues and the current generation of youth gamers is among the most socially conscious in history,” said Suzanne Seggerman, co-founder and president of Games for Change. “The movement toward educating and engaging youth through digital games for
      change not only raises awareness of the importance of social issues, but gives youth an opportunity to make a difference. As this movement continues to build momentum, we believe that partnerships and grant support from leading technology companies like AMD will be critical to its success.”
   
   

Through AMD Changing the Game, AMD Foundation grants will go to nonprofit organizations that inspire young people learn while creating games with social content. Employees will also support the initiative through volunteer opportunities. In its pilot year, the following organizations will be funded:
   

  • Girlstart, is 
    an Austin, TX-based nonprofit organization created to empower middle
            and high school girls to excel in math, science, and technology. In
            the summer of 2008, the AMD Foundation’s
    grant will enable 60 Girlstart participants to attend a program
            focused on games with social content. As a capstone project, girls
            will be creating a social awareness event in Teen Second Life, a
            virtual gathering place for teens 13-17 all over the world to make friends, play, learn and create. The Girlstart team will identify a
            social issue of importance to them and create an event in Teen Second
            Life that will help raise awareness and inspire action around the
            issue.
          
  • Global Kids, is a Brooklyn, NY-based nonprofit organization that seeks to transform
            urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders.
            Through its grant to Global Kids’ Playing for Keeps program, AMD has joined The Microsoft Corporation in
            enabling 20 young people from underserved communities to work with
            game developers to develop, create and distribute a game about the
            heroic role of residents following Hurricane Katrina. Last year, young
            people worked with developers in the Playing for Keeps program
            to create the game Ayiti: The Cost of Life which allows players
            to assume the role of impoverished people living in rural Haiti with
            the goal of meeting some key health, education and quality of life
            challenges.
          
  • Institute for Urban Game Design, is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization teaching science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills through the hands-on
            creation of digital games. Beginning in the summer of 2008, the AMD
            Foundation’s grant will enable IUGD
            participants to apply their learning in 3-D modeling, animation and
            computer programming to the development of a game focused on the issue
            of energy usage. Students will learn about and explore the social
            issues associated with different types of energy.
          
  • Science Buddies is a national, non-profit organization based in California’s Silicon
            Valley offering a variety of web-based tools that help K-12 students
            explore science through research-based projects often done at Science
            Fairs and other school and community events. AMD Foundation’s
            grant will enable Science Buddies to launch a Video and Computer Games
            Interest Area on its site aimed at helping students understand and
            practice what is required to design digital games. AMD volunteers will work with Science Buddies staff scientists to develop project ideas to
            spark student interest in exploring topics such as human behavior in
            games, ergonomics, game design and programming and the incorporation
            of social or educational content in games.
          

As part of launching the Games for Change Festival, the AMD Foundation, in partnership with the John G. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, is sponsoring “Let the Games Begin,” a day-long workshop for nonprofit organizations focusing on how to create social issue games. The workshop will feature interactive
      lectures by some of the nation’s leading
      authorities on social issue game development and cover fundamentals such
as game design, fundraising, evaluation, youth participation,
      distribution and press strategies.
   
   

Following the Festival, the AMD Foundation and Games for Change plan to co-produce a how-to digital toolkit for nonprofits that includes examples of games with social content, interviews with key experts and additional guidance for nonprofits creating social issue games for the first time.
   

AMD is also working with PETLab, a joint project of Games for Change and
      Parsons The News School, to create a social issue game development curriculum for youth. The curriculum is expected to be piloted in the fall of 2008.
   
   

For more information about AMD Changing the Game, including a video and
      other materials, visit www.amd.com/changingthegame.
      Also visit AMD
      Unprocessed
on Facebook for additional information and regular updates.
   

   

About AMD
   

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is a leading global provider of
      innovative processing solutions in the computing, graphics and consumer
      electronics markets. AMD is dedicated to driving open innovation, choice
      and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions
      that empower consumers and businesses worldwide.
   

   

About the AMD Foundation
   

The AMD Foundation connects and empowers individuals with knowledge,
      thereby opening doors to opportunity.
   
   

Foundation assets are specifically invested in: Initiatives that inspire
      and facilitate science, technology, engineering and math learning for
      current and future generations (STEM skills); Support of employees’
      community interests by matching their personal donations of time and
      money to local organizations and schools (AMD Employee Giving Program);
      Contributions of aid when disaster strikes the communities where we
      operate (Disaster Relief).
   

   

About Games for Change
   

Games for Change (G4C) provides support, visibility and shared resources to individuals and organizations using digital games for social change, giving special assistance to non-profits and foundations entering the field. G4C was formed in 2004 as a sub-group of the Serious Games Initiative. Today, G4C acts as a national hub to help organizations network and develop videogame projects beyond their traditional
      expertise. Its members represent hundreds of organizations and include
      partners in the games industry, academia, nonprofits, local and state
      governments, foundations, the UN and artists.
   
   

©2008, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced
      Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and
      may be trademarks of their respective owners. Links to third party sites
      are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not
      responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is
      implied.
   

   

1 See VG Chartz

CONTACTS

AMD
Travis Bullard, 512-602-5667 (PR)
travis.bullard@amd.com
or
Ruth Cotter, 408-749-3887 (IR)
ruth.cotter@amd.com
   

 

1 thought on “AMD “Changes the Game” through funding non-profit gaming initiatives”

  1. Dr. Sanford Aranoff says:
    June 3, 2008 at 5:54 am

    To be a good teacher, we must understand how students think. See the new book on amazon.com: “Teaching and Helping Students Think and Do Better”.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

A History of the Jazz Split

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlfLr9YmMJU

Recent Posts

  • A Magical Visit to the Snoopy Home Ice Rink and the Charles M. Shultz Museum!
  • Thoughts on Learning and Skating
  • The Voice (poem)
  • Toy Train in a Tin
  • Bucket List Complete: Visiting All the Disney Theme Parks!

Categories

  • Books
  • Cats
  • Civil Society
  • Creative Writing
  • Dancing / Music
  • Education
  • Family
  • Film
  • Food and Drink
  • General
  • Health
  • Information Society
  • Machinima
  • Media Reform
  • Music
  • New York
  • Politics
  • quotation
  • Real World Places in SL
  • Science
  • SF Bay Area
  • Television
  • The Spirit
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • United Nations
  • Virtual Worlds
  • Web/Tech

Tags

b-boy (76) breakdance (51) breaking (26) brooklyn (36) charleston (11) competition (11) dance (17) dancing (30) documentary (15) education (21) festival (12) frankie95 (16) frankie manning (52) frim fram (10) fundraiser (10) global kids (70) hip-hop (31) human rights (11) inaug09 (11) jazz (12) ken swift (10) lindy hop (144) lindyhop (23) lowcarb (18) lxd (11) macarthur foundation (12) machinima (22) memorial (14) mermaidparade (22) mtv (13) performance (16) poetry (11) popping (11) quaker (27) recipe (38) rockclimbing (16) second life (81) shim sham (15) skating (70) soul music (14) swing (52) swing dance (45) virtual world (19) virtual worlds (29) yehoodi (46)
© 2025 Rikomatic | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme