Digital Dive - Black Youth Action Plan

Interactive Ontario's Digital Dive is a virtual classroom designed by professionals in the Video Game / Interactive Digital Media industry. Black High School Students in Ontario are invited to explore the classroom with friends and complete workshops at their own pace to develop skills in writing for interactive storytelling and design, while learning more about the career paths and options available after high school! LAUNCH PARTY: Saturday February 20th at 11:00am - 1:00pm

• Meet the speakers and workshop instructors
• Explore Mozilla Hubs and the Digital Dive Virtual Classroom
• Get started on workshops

Workshops are OPEN ACCESS to registered students from Saturday February 20, 2021 to Saturday March 6, 2021

Featured Digital Dive Workshops

Twine: Learn to use Interactive game maker Twine to make interactive storytelling games using images, text, and sound that'll take your ideas into working games with little to no programming experience—as long as you have a story to tell, this workshop will show you how to turn it into a great text adventure. This workshop is lead by Jordan Sparks. Since 2012, Jordan has taught Multimedia skills to over well 5000 people across Ontario and is the Technology Director & Workshop Coordinator of the Hand Eye Society. Jordan is a Multimedia Artist, Designer, and Educator currently teaching in Humber College's Game Programming program.

Collaborative Game Development 101: In this 2-D Mobile game programming tutorial, you'll be introduced to 2-D game programming and content creation. You'll also explore graphic, coding, and audio production for game development. Learn what is possible for students to become producers, instead of merely players, of videogames in this workshop. This workshop is designed by writer, artist-musician and founder of multimedia tech startup TrethWest Inc., Aharon Joseph.

Listening to Learn from Black Professionals : Black industry Professionals share their career journey in Video Game / Interactive Digital Media; learn from these pro’s who demonstrate Black excellence everyday and become better equipped to select a post-secondary path.

Daniella Kalinda (Social Media Specialist at Diversity Institute)

Rob Elsworthy (Director of Resistr Interactive and former Game Designer at Rockstar Games)

Sara Tekle (Founder & CEO of UPPTACK STUDIOS)

All students will also be invited to learn more about taking your first step into game development with Ubisoft Toronto. Ubisoft Toronto’s recruitment team will discuss the studio’s student initiatives, including Ubisoft Toronto NEXT and the Ubisoft Graduate Program. They’ll also share tips and tricks for building a strong job application for your future opportunities. More information coming soon.

ABOUT BLACK YOUTH ACTION PLAN:

The Black Youth Action Plan (BYAP) works toward eliminating systemic, race-based disparities by increasing opportunities for Black children, youth and families across the province. For the past 2 years Interactive Ontario has been supporting postsecondary education and career development producing Digital Dive and ipprenticeship, Industry-Led Career Initiatives for training, support and work placement opportunities to help Black youth secure high-quality employment and advance their careers in the Interactive Digital Media Industry.