Latinitas Turned My Daughter Into a Game Chica

You know how when you are so excited about something and want to tell others about it you get kind of stuck because you don’t even know where to start? Well, that’s how I feel about the Latinitas’ Game Chica Conference that took place this weekend at Seven Tepees in San Francisco’s Mission District. 

Latinitas’ Game Chica Conference

Basically, it was a gaming conference for girls 9-18 years old put on by Latinitas in partnership with Seven Tepees.

Wait, hold up, who or what is Latinitas? 

Image via Latinitas.com

Latinitas is a non-profit organization that was founded in Texas in 2002. It is dedicated to empowering girls to be courageous leaders that innovate through media and technology. This was their first time bringing a Game Chica conference to San Francisco, which is why they partnered with Seven Tepees. 

Wait, hold up, what the heck is Seven Tepees? 

Seven Tepees Youth Program is a non-profit, community-based organization that has been providing “comprehensive resources to underresourced youth in San Francisco” since 1995. 

Oh, and the conference was sponsored by EA. 

The conference was sponsored by SOMOS EA, the Hispanic/Latinos Employee Resource Group (ERG) at Electronic Arts, and the keynote address was presented by Cristina Rufeisen, Director of Program Management at Electronic Art’s Information Technology Department and SOMOS EA Board Co-Chair. 

So what went down at the conference? 

• The girls learned about the current state of affairs in the gaming industry and delved into why their perspective and representation in video games is needed. 
• Using the Scratch platform they learned how to design and develop elements of game art.
• They got to network – 😲I know, right?! – with industry professionals. 

The day ended with the girls presenting their projects. 

Please excuse the blurry picture. I was too busy actually watching my child’s presentation to keep the camera steady.

Proud Mom Moment: 

Can I just tell you how proud I was of my shy 10-year-old for going to the conference, interacting with people she didn’t know, diving into creating a video game and standing in front of everyone to present it? This is a BIG deal people! Such a big deal on so many levels I can’t even. 

Oh, and did I mention the whole thing was free?

Yup, thanks to the funding provided by EA, participants did not have to pay a penny to attend. Even lunch was provided. 

And there was swag. 

Let’s be real, a conference without swag is not much of a conference. Conference attendees love them some swag and EA did not send these girls home empty-handed. 

The real gift. 

The swag was nice, but the real gift was the encouragement and validation that the Latinitas in attendance received. They might not pursue a career in video games, but now they know they can if that’s where their passion lies. 

FYI

You should know that this is NOT a sponsored post and I have no affiliation with any of the organizations mentioned. I’m just telling you about them because what they are doing deserves to be recognized and I am grateful for the investment they are making in our youth. 

Game Chica Conference

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