Affordance in India
The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace (MGIEP) invited Affordance Studio to come to the southeastern coast in the city of Vizag at the end of November for the Transforming Education Conference for Humanity Conference (TECH) 2018. Here are some of the highlights.
Arrival in Vizag
The conference of over 300 attendees from all over the world took place in the state of Andra Pradesh.
The first order of business upon arrival was working with UNESCO to write the Vizag Declaration which will serve as an important guideline for developing and using educational games in India and throughout the world.
Once the workshops, panels and presentations began, Quebec was well represented! Caroline Julien from CREO, Shawn Young from Classcraft, and François Boucher-Genèse from Ululab were all present and accounted for!
The conference brought some of the biggest names in educational games in the world. Below Avery is on a panel with Susanna Pollack from Games for Change, Anantha Duraiappah the Director of the MGIEP program, Zigor Hernandorena the Director of the Fun Learning Department at Ubisoft and Santeri Koivisto, the founder of Minecraft Education. They talked about the Vizag Declaration and how to effectively get buy-in from all stakeholders (e.g. teachers, students, parents, administrators and researchers) for the development and use of educational games.
Culture of India
The conference was not just a chance to talk shop, it was also a chance to get to know India’s incredible culture. The food was amazing. Dhal, naan and biryani were on the menu every day with a little green pepper for extra spice.
The TECH2018 organizers also gave the attendees the chance to take part in a night of dancing and entertainment. Here’s a picture of Avery with a few of the young dancers who performed during the soirée.
We even got the chance to see a well-known magician. Check this out!
All Things Must Pass
Unfortunately, Affordance’s trip to Vizag had to come to and end. And so did the warmth and sun of southern India.
Now it’s back to snowplows, winter boots and grey skies. Luckily for us, we were invited back next year to be a part of TECH2019. We can’t wait!
