Amplifying New Voices trains diverse professionals to be great speakers and leaders

You could think of it as Toastmasters for diverse professionals. Amplifying New Voices is a program where veteran professionals in the game, virtual reality, or augmented reality industries train new people who are up-and-comers.

Last year, the group of six coaches trained 36 people among the developer, artist, and programming communities, giving them a little more polish and poise when speaking publicly or to the media.

The organizers think that Amplifying New Voices is even more important in the current political climate. The workshop takes place on February 26 in San Francisco, just a few days before the Game Developers Conference.

ANV’s goal is to cultivate and train applicants in how to be spokespeople and role models in the industry.

Specifically, the participants will work with mentors to hone their PR, public speaking, and presentation skills. They will also be introduced to many members of the industry and will be encouraged to work on their community-building.

If your application is accepted, besides attending the workshop, you will also get a pass to the Game Developers Conference, and you will be given a stipend to help pay for your flight and hotel.

In order to be eligible for acceptance into the workshop, you will need to meet the following criteria:

• Create games that focus on aspects of diversity or identity OR you personally identify as being a part of an underrepresented group in the games or AR/VR industry.
• Are involved in developing games (artist, designer, engineer, producer, sound designer, writer) and want to grow as a public role model.
• Are mid-career in the industry, having worked in the field for three to eight years, and having at least one shipped title is preferred.

The applications for nominations are January 20, 2017.