UK games trade body Ukie’s latest diversity campaign, Impact, has revealed the first six individuals selected to “level up the games industry for disabled and neurodiverse people”, celebrating their “outstanding passion, success and contribution to disability advocacy”.
Impact, which aims to “showcase and celebrate the talents” of six disabled and neurodiverse UK-based games industry professions”, launched back in April. The “annual long-term initiative” hopes to feature people from across various areas, specialisms and levels and “have stood out in their career [as] are proud advocates of their identity”.
The six individuals selected from 80+ nominations are:
- Inès Robin, Client Developer, Space Ape Games
- Li Brady, QA Tester, The Chinese Room
- Christopher Leech, PhD Researcher, Edge Hill University
- Sadie Jarvis, Community Manager, Raw Fury
- Kathryn Vinclaire, Voice Actor, Freelance
- Smart Hopewell, Senior Narrative Writer, Freelance
“In our most recent census of the games industry, 23 per cent of people identified themselves as neurodiverse, and 13 per cent of people reported having a physical disability. Campaigns such as Impact are vital for showcasing the unique value and perspectives that disabled and neurodiverse members of our industry bring,” said Ukie Co-CEO, Daniel Wood.
“We’re proud to see the reception that Impact has already, and we’re excited for how this cohort can help increase accessibility for disabled and neurodiverse people who want to enter the games industry.”
“There has never been anything like Impact before, which makes it all the most essential as an initiative, to reflect the fundamental reality of working in the games industry as disabled and neurodivergent people – the barriers and the successes in equal measure,” adds Harriet Frayling, project lead for Impact at Many Cats Studios.” The simple fact is that disabled people are here, from all walks of life, from every background and have always been here.
“To really emphasize this, our cohort is an impressively intersectional group from a wide range of disciplines and seniority levels, showcasing the expertise of the cohort and the meaningful visibility and representation that is desperately needed.”
Last November, Ukie teamed up with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to launch Access November, a new campaign launched under its RaiseTheGame initiative to “create meaningful cultural and behavioral change in UK game businesses”.
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