We all coexist in a complex world. While the majority of us strive to live, work, and play together openly and constructively, despite our differing worldviews, unfortunately we also realize that there are individuals throughout our societies who are unable to transcend their biases and behaviors and choose to inflict their worldview on others.
During this time of upheaval – not only due to the pandemic but also to the longstanding racial and gender injustices being brought to light once again – the Global Game Jam organization believes it is necessary to remind our community of our Inclusiveness Policy and Code of Conduct. The GGJ’s very existence is built upon the broadest definition of inclusion, as represented by people from nearly every kind of community, culture, and creed. We value and embrace inclusion as a core tenet of our mission: To empower individuals worldwide to learn, experiment, and create together through the medium of games.
Let us be clear: “individuals” mean every human being is welcome in the GGJ. As expressed in the policy itself: “No sexism, racism, discrimination or any kind of exclusion will be tolerated in association with the GGJ and we reserve the right to refuse and/or remove content based on our principles. We encourage inclusive and welcoming environments in all our locations.”
This policy is non-negotiable and unequivocal, and the GGJ will enforce this globally without reservation; our regional and site organizers embody and reinforce these values locally. We want to ensure that everyone participating in the GGJ strives to be kind and accepting to all; people in our global community are facing many forms of injustice every day, and they are all welcome here. Read and understand our Inclusiveness Policy, and follow the Code of Conduct.
Regarding the presence of Chris Avellone in our 2020 GGJ keynote. Like many, we were unaware at the time of the allegations about his ongoing behaviors, but at this point we have removed his keynote video from the GGJ archive.
We will follow up with another post soon with specific actions the GGJ is taking to help empower individuals in underrepresented groups who are the primary target of these injustices.