Black Girl Gamers revealed more information today about its upcoming 2024 Online Summit, including the lineup of speakers and what date it’s going to be held. The event takes place on August 3 and will be hosted on RingCentral. In addition to the below-revealed individuals, it’ll reveal more speakers in the coming weeks.
Black Girls Gamers first held its Online Summit in 2020, with Twitch as a sponsor. According to the organization, this year it plans to center its discussions around four main talking points:
- Equity & Access: Moving beyond Diversity 101 conversations to get to the nitty gritty of the industry’s current needs.
- Impact & Innovation – Exploring gaming’s influence on mainstream culture and its intersection with non-endemic brands and media.
- Culture & Authenticity – Led by Black and POC industry professionals, these panels will deliver nuanced advice and actionable guidance to viewers.
- Advocacy & Allyship – Educating allies on effective ways to support underrepresented communities.
The Black Girl Gamers Online Summit confirmed speakers include:
- Dr. Rachel Kowert (Research Director, Take This)
- Elaine Gomez ( Vice President, Latinx in Gaming)
- Dr. Akil Fletcher (Princeton University)
- Jessica Murrey (Co-Founder and CEO Wicked Saints Studios)
- Niles Seymour-Heron (Head of Strategy, Verse and Hook)
- Kishonna Gray (University of Kentucky)
- Olivier Nourry (Chief Accessibility Officer of Games Accessibility Hub)
Jay-Ann Lopez, Black Girl Gamer founder and CEO (who spoke at GamesBeat Next 2023), said in a statement, “The gaming industry is going through a lot right now. This is why it was important for us to bring back our Online Gaming Summit this summer. I’m excited for us to create a space for industry professionals, aspiring professionals, and those who just love to game for fun to engage in candid and much-needed conversations, especially in the wake of continued layoffs, DEI cutbacks, and GamerGate 2.0.”
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