Women Unite!
Introducing Power Up!
PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN’S ECONOMIC RISE = POWER!
Join the ultimate Game Jam experience! POWER Up! is here to support women in the United States and New Zealand, fostering creativity, collaboration, and innovation in game design. Whether you're a seasoned developer or a budding enthusiast, this is your chance to shine. Building on the success of New Zealand's Koia Jam, POWER Up! prioritizes creativity and community over competition and prizes.
Why POWER Up! Is Unique
- POWER Up! is non-competitive, collaborative, and virtual – allowing you to focus on the creative aspect of making great games with real impact while engaging with industry and growing your network.
- POWER Up! welcomes diverse teams from all skill levels in a safe and inclusive environment that is supportive of creativity and socializing.
- POWER Up! is promoted by the NZGDA and the U.S. Embassy, emphasizing empowerment, innovation, and friendship in a culture of well-being that is social-media-buzzy!
Ready to POWER Up?
Dive into this thrilling adventure and take your game design skills to the next level. Sign up now, it's totally free and start creating! Come together online over 48 hours to make something playful, exploring the power of perspective and transforming the distance between us into a space of positive change.
Entrants
If you'd like to take part in POWER Up! and create a game, we'd love to have you! Register here and we'll be in touch soon to grant you access to the community and get you set up.
Games
We are looking forward to seeing what you all make! This link will go through to a games showcase when the jam wraps up.
Contact
Not quite sure what this is all about? Are you from the press? Do you just want to say something nice? For all of the above, jump in here.
Schedule
Registration opens, media campaign
August 7
Community and social activities, webinars
All September
Theme announced and Game Jam weekend
September 28/29
Showcase, industry engagement
October
Our Kaupapa
We Live Our Shared Values - Our Kaupapa
Kaupapa means principles and ideas which act as a base or foundation for action. A kaupapa is a set of values, principles and plans which people have agreed on as a foundation for their actions. POWER Up! is based on a radical new idea for a Game Jam competition: one where the games themselves are informed by exploring content, mechanics, and general game design through the lens of principles and values.
If you were to build a game that had to be not only fun, but also delve deep into issues that matter, what would you do? Is it possible to build a game that connects to important subject matter, but can still be entertaining, captivating and challenging? What role do games currently play, in communicating or exploring the values of our society?
So what values does POWER Up! itself stand for, as a community of game developers who run an annual game jam competition?
- Collaboration
- Respect
- Honest communication
- Applying the benefit of the doubt
- Being comfortable with disagreement
- Transparency and openness
- Fun, socially conducive environments
- Willingness to self reflect and learn
Event Partners
In partnership with the US Embassy in New Zealand
POWER connects the U.S. private sector with U.S. overseas missions to help women business leaders in the U.S. and abroad develop partnerships in emerging markets that help them explore new opportunities and implement competitive strategies in key sectors.
In 2019, the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs launched a new State Department initiative to promote women’s economic empowerment called POWER. The initiative leverages diplomatic resources to promote women in business and works with the private sector to establish professional networks and business environments focused on promoting women’s economic empowerment in a global context. To partner or learn more, please contact us at POWER@state.gov.
How POWER promotes women’s economic empowerment to advance U.S. economic interests: