Festival Of Politics 2024 – How Games Can Solve Scotland’s Digital Skills Crisis

Panelists Include Representatives Of WarDog, West College Scotland, Amicable Animal, Cobra Mobile & Heriot Watt University – Chaired by Michael Marra MSP

The Scottish Parliament’s Festival of Politics 2024 takes place in August with a five-day programme of over 30 events, in the home of Scottish politics at Holyrood.  This year, for the first time ever, the festival will incorporate a panel on the role of videogames in Scotland’s future – and how they can impact education.
 
2024 is the 20th anniversary of the festival, which takes place between Monday 19 August to Friday 23 August and promises informed debate and inspiring topics on a range of social, political, and environmental issues facing the world today.  

Leading experts from the worlds of politics, the arts, business, the media, academia and the third sector will join parliament for a deep dive into issues dominating the news agenda, such as housing, climate, young people, mental health, social care, dementia, AI, housing, local government and now – games.

Gamepocalypse Now

On Thursday August 22nd, from 11:30 – 13:00, the festival is holding a roundtable to explore the impact games could have in helping to solve Scotland’s growing digital skills crisis.

Chaired by Michael Marra MSP, the co-convener of the Cross-Party Group on Scotland’s Games Ecosystem, the panel features experts from Scotland’s game development and games education sectors.

The panelists are:

• Mark Ettle is the Chief Executive Officer of Cobra Mobile, an international games/app developer and publisher based in Dundee. Mark started working in the games sector at DMA Design before moving into pioneering work in the early mobile games space. Mark has led Cobra Mobile to become a leader in mobile game development attracting a client list including, Apple, WB, EA, TT Games, LEGO, DC Comics and Amazon. Mark has undertaken a wide range of charity work and is creating a new college course designed to expose young adults to various disciplines and skill sets lacking in today’s workplaces.
• Dr Amanda Ford is a games lecturer at West College Scotland. She is also the founder of Scottish Games Education Network which aims to connect those across Scotland working in games education and ensure we are delivering the best quality education for everyone studying games in Scotland.
• Jade Law is the founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Edinburgh-based Wardog Studios, an art development studio with a global reputation for providing best in industry weapons and vehicles for games and film.
• Dr Thomas Methven is a programme director and Scottish BAFTA-winning game developer (known as Amicable Animal). He is a pillar of the Edinburgh game development and lecturing scene. He has been making experimental games for the last 10 years, leading the development of innovative video game teaching provision across Edinburgh, and runs the yearly Edinburgh Global Game Jam. He launched his first published game, SOLAS 128, to universal acclaim, and is launching an entirely new BSc (Hons) degree in Games Development and Production later this year.

Michale Marra MSP, told the Scottish Games Network:

I am greatly looking forward to chairing this panel discussing the hugely important relationship between the games industry and education. Games can make a vital contribution to education – both as a tool for learning and training up the next generation of designers. It is essential that we get policy in this area right to ensure that Scotland’s games sector continues to thrive.

Dr Amanda Ford, said:

Using games in education does not instantly mean all the kids are playing games all the time – it can be something as simple as choosing a game and basing an activity around that. Really its just tapping into what they already know and like, and making use of that in the classroom.

Dr Thomas Methven, agreed:

As the world becomes more and more digital, it also becomes more complicated, opaque, and full of misinformation. Games have an almost unique power to teach players how to navigate incredibly complex systems in an entertaining and engaging way – but perhaps more importantly learning how to create them is even more powerful. Videogames sit at a fascinating intersection between technology, design, psychology, but in the end it is all about understanding people… and I can’t think of anything more important in the modern world than that!

Festival Of Politics 2024 – Book Now

Tickets for the panel are on sale now. Standard tickets are £7.50 with concessions available at £5. You can explore the complete festival programme and book your tickets on the website. You can also follow the festival on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.