OPERATION CLIMATE CONTROL LAUNCHES AT HOUSE OF COMMONS
UK MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT ANNOUNCE NEW ONLINE GAME TO HELP PUPILS UNDERSTAND THE THREAT OF CLIMATE CHANGE
MUSLIM AND JEWISH SCHOOLCHILDREN TEST DRIVE GAME AT HOUSE OF COMMONS LAUNCH
INDIE GAMES PRODUCER RED REDEMPTION CONFIRM THEMSELVES AS MARKET LEADER IN MULTI-PLAYER ENVIRONMENTAL GAMES MARKET
Play the game on www.operationclimatecontrol.co.uk
Oxford UK. 5 July 2007. Climate change affects all faiths, communities and countries and Alif-Aleph UK joined with The Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs [Defra] and indie games developer Red Redemption to host the launch of Operation Climate Control at the House of Commons on 3 July in a packed Committee Room 10.
Operation: Climate Control, developed by Red Redemption and funded by Defra, is an innovative and exciting multi-player game aimed at GCSE school children aged 15-16 to educate them about the elements and impacts of climate policy and help stimulate a change in their attitudes and behaviour towards environmental sustainability. Attendees at the launched witnessed Jewish and Muslim teenagers test driving the game in friendly competition with each other and then demonstrating it for their benefit.
Alif-Aleph UK, who hosted the event, is a group of British Muslims and British Jews committed to develop positive contacts between their faiths as a "good practice model" for all communities in the UK who find themselves divided. Speaking at the launch Phil Woolas MP, in his first official task as Minister of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pointed out the immense challenge posed by climate change to communities the world over and commended both the cross faith initiative and the imaginative, fun game that is Operation Climate Control before presenting book tokens to the winning game participants.
Other speakers included Sadiq Khan MP, Prof Akhbar Ahmed (former High Commissioner for Pakistan, and member of the Runnymede Commissions on Antisemitism & on Islamophobia), Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris, Dr Richard Stone (Founder/President Alif-Aleph UK and chair of Commission on Islamophobia) and Gobion Rowlands (Operation: Climate Control Producer). More follows.
Gobion Rowlands, Managing Director of Red Redemption said "We are very excited about the launch of Operation: Climate Control. The threat that climate change poses to us all can hardly be understated and it is crucial that young people understand the problem and are enthused to help find solutions. When developing our previous game "Climate Challenge"*, we realized that there are a very limited set of resources for school kids that deal with climate change in a way that teachers can build it into their lesson plans. Operation: Climate Control builds on our experiences and feedback from the Climate Challenge game to give these kids some difficult scenarios to deal with in a fun way."
The "Operation: Climate Control" game is developed by Red Redemption and the Stone Ashdown Trust and is funded by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Climate Challenge Fund - "Tomorrow's Climate - Today's Challenge".
*Climate Challenge was developed for the BBC Science and Nature website and invited users to take the hot seat to guide Europe through the 21st century while all the time making choices that could make or break the future of the planet. It has achieved over 500,000 unique plays to date.
Launch Photos available at:
http://www.red-redemption.com/media/press/OCC_Launch_Photos.zip
Game Character images at:
http://www.red-redemption.com/media/press/OCC_Screen_Res_Characters.zip
In-game Screen Shots available at:
http://www.red-redemption.com/media/press/OCC_Game_Screenshots.zip
Further information from Gobion Rowlands, Managing Director, Red Redemption,
Telephone + 44 (0) 1865 596 160
Email gobion@red-redemption.com
Website www.red-redemption.com
Note to Editors
Red Redemption is a social venture, a games company dedicated exclusively to making smart games with a strong learning aspect in climate change, sustainability and developmental issues. Red Redemption is the world's leading games company in climate change. So far in 2007 Red Redemption has launched four major climate change projects:
"Climate Challenge" (with the BBC and the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University),
"Operation: Climate Control" (with the Department of the Environment) a scenarios-based climate change game for 15-16 year olds and designed for use in the classroom with a teacher.
"Trouble Shooter!" (with EDF Energy), a simple and fun retro-arcade game to accompany an energy efficiency road show for corporate clients.
The Oxfordshire ClimateXChange Community Portal (with the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University)
Red Redemption is partnered with the Environmental Change Institute of Oxford University and the UK Department of the Environment and is fortunate enough to have Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientists as games advisors, and to further ensure scientific rigor, Red Redemption has a fulltime in-house climate scientist. The company follow up all of its projects with in depth research on their effectiveness, for example a MSc master's thesis was produced by the Oxford University Environmental Change Institute examining the effectiveness of Red Redemption's Climate Challenge game. Red Redemption is also an award-winning company, and has won government awards from the Department of the Environment "Climate Challenge Fund" and the Department of Trade and Industry "Smart Innovation Award