The Global Game Jam is dedicated to being a welcoming place for all jammers. We do our best to vet all keynote speakers to ensure they espouse our values, but unfortunately sometimes new information comes to light after the fact which demonstrates that our choice was not a good one. For this, we take accountability and apologise. Additionally, this statement addresses the issue of keynotes in particular, but GGJ leadership is continuing conversations on how our organisation can more broadly help protect its community members from harassment and ensure that all members of our organisation, especially people in leadership roles, live up to our Code of Conduct.
In response to recent events and with a desire to move forward and improve, we have prepared the following actions:
- Formalise and openly publish the process of nominating keynote speakers.
- Generate a list of keynote candidates with nominations for speakers coming from the Executive Committee (EC) and Board.
- Everyone on the list is reviewed by the entire EC and board according to a criteria to determine if there are any widely held concerns in their professional history- anyone can be disqualified at that stage.
- Publish a list of the disqualification criteria for speakers.
- A final speaker is chosen by a small subcommittee of 5 EC and Board members who self nominate to serve on the subcommittee. The Executive Producer is the chair of this committee. If no one volunteers, the Executive Producer will appoint the committee.
- Take away abusers’ platform.
- Allegations of misconduct brought to our attention will be taken seriously, leading to removal from our YouTube channel and other de-platforming as required to prevent further harm and unwanted reminders to victims.
- Abusers will be removed after the fact if information has surfaced that the speaker did not pass our list of criteria after giving the keynote.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to [email protected].