Since 2019, Ubisoft has worked with a French charity organization to provide support and mentoring to youths from underprivileged communities in France. The foundation, called Apprentis d’Auteuil (Apprentices of Auteuil), is dedicated to the provision of education, training, familial support, and local advocacy programs to support young people. This year, 14 volunteers from Ubisoft lent their time to offer 14 kids the chance to imagine and design their very own games, and get a taste of what it’s like to work in the games industry.
The project saw seven groups, each comprised of two kids, developing their creativity by designing their dream game, helping them to discover different roles within the games industry to inspire them and explore their future careers. The children in the program were asked to come up with a marketing strategy for their game, as well as designing and presenting it to judges. In the process, they were aided in developing their skills in public speaking, conducting presentations, writing, and using various computer programs and tools.
The wrap-up above follows the Apprentis d’Auteuil kids through their fifth session, the final coaching to help them organize their ideas and present them effectively, followed by the presentation of their project in front of the jury in the final step of their video game adventure. Choosing between each of the games was a challenge, but the final winners were honored in a prize ceremony, and everyone celebrated together over snacks and drinks. Each of the participants was also provided with a box of goodies to commemorate their time and hard work on their projects.
This initiative is part of the “Play for Good” program, an initiative rolled out at Ubisoft in 2017, and which aims to give back to local communities and those in need by providing opportunities for employees to lend their time and skills to a wide variety of charitable foundations and events to promote the idea that play can be a positive force in the world.
To find out more about how people at Ubisoft are getting involved in local and global initiatives, stay tuned to the Ubisoft News hub.
