Director Of One Laptop Per Child Initiative To Take Center Stage At Serious Games Summit GDC 2007
Samuel Klein to Address Initiative's Potential as a Serious Games Platform on Day Two of Summit
SAN FRANCISCO - Jan. 24, 2007 - Samuel J. Klein, a leading campaigner for free access to knowledge and tools, and director of content for the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative, will keynote the second day of the Serious Games Summit GDC 2007 (SGS GDC). Klein's presentation, titled "One Laptop per Child and Serious Games," will explore the potential of the OLPC initiative as a serious gaming platform to address the educational and practical applications of videogames. SGS GDC will take place March 5-6 at the Moscone Convention Center North in San Francisco.
A not-for-profit humanitarian effort, OLPC designs, manufactures and distributes inexpensive laptops with the goal of giving every child in the world access to a modern education. Klein's keynote address will touch on the hardware, operating system, and game development support on the first wave of laptops that will debut later this year, and address the strategies for learning through play that the OLPC team is formulating.
"We are excited to have the charismatic S.J. Klein helm the second day of proceedings at this year's SGS GDC," said Ben Sawyer, co-founder, Digitalmill, and SGS GDC content chair. "Education is a key component within the serious games industry, and the dedicated and creative team at OLPC is working to conquer the technology divide in education and access to information."
"S.J. represents a powerfully altruistic movement in the technology industry, and offers game developers a compelling opportunity to effect positive change in the world," said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the GDC. "The OLPC platform offers access to not only practical game development, but the ability to extend the online discourse and interactivity we all take for granted to isolated and impoverished children all over the planet."
SGS GDC offers advanced seminars on design, production, implementation and assessment issues related to serious games, as well as case studies on game-based solutions and simulations used within non-entertainment industries. Attendees are invited to the annual SGS GDC Reception, March 5 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m., a networking opportunity for game developers and industry professionals. The SGS GDC speaker line-up, full session descriptions, and registration are now available online at <http://sgs.gdconf.com/>. Press registration is also currently open for SGS GDC as well as the Game Developers Conference, at www.gdconf.com <http://www.gdconf.com/>.
More than 12,500 game industry professionals will convene during GDC, the world's largest games industry-only event dedicated to the advancement of resources, tools and technologies used to create interactive entertainment. The GDC features more than 300 lectures, panels, tutorials and round-table discussions on a comprehensive selection of game development topics taught by leading industry experts.
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