Games for Change Latin America focus on Identity and Artificial Intelligence in vulnerable territories

A 24 hours public debate will be held at the Museum of the Slums and at the University of São Paulo next May, 4-5, sponsored by the French Embassy of Brazil in the “Night of Ideas” series.

The growing importance of artificial intelligence threatens human rights, cultural diversity and the search for creative identities. This is the starting point of a 24-hour rally of conversations and public debate, workshops and partying at the Museum of the Slums in São Paulo.

The event is curated by Gilson Schwartz, president of Games for Change Latin America and Associate Professor at the Department of Film, Radio and TV of the School of Communications and Arts and at the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program on Humanities, Rights and Other Legitimacies at the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences at the University of São Paulo (USP).

“There is a growing tension between the humanities and the unbridled digitalization that now dominates minds and hearts. It is urgent to identify connection gaps, to discuss the ideological lines inherited by technoscience and pierce the digital bubbles that define citizenship itself,” says Schwartz.

The event will be broadcasted online from 2pm on Saturday, May 4th, continuing through the night at USP campus and dawning with game design, photography and graffiti workshops at Beco do Batman, in Vila Madalena (a cultural hotspot in São Paulo). The event is supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Brazil. The Museum of the Slums is part of the São Paulo State Secretary of Creative Culture.

The dialogical marathon also marks the launch of a remote educational platform that focuses on games and gamification, aimed at professional catch-up among young people in the areas of game creation and distribution, the “Quilombo Inteligente” project, sponsored by the “Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie” (AUF).

The “Night of Ideas” will revolve around digital creative practices that explore the contradictions and opportunities accelerated by identity agendas in the context of contemporary digital transformations. The event brings together social leaders, researchers and professors engaged in science, technology and innovation, education and the arts.

The event is free and will promote "Peace Coins." Each participant activates a digital account used to support projects and causes or transfer credits to other participants. Workshops about G4C Latam awardees such as “Balomania” and new games sponsored by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation will be highlighted in the upcoming 24 hs rally with live streaming.

Inspired by collaborative practices of traditional communities and invoking the spirit of “quilombagem” (the “quilombo way of life”), the “Night of Ideas” favors dialogical encounters and the advocacy of interculturality, mental health and wellbeing.

The “Museu das Favelas” is an institution of the Secretary of Culture, Economy and Creative Industries, managed by IDG - Institute for Development and Management, which since November 2022 has been offering the public an extensive program with exhibitions, artistic and educational activities, a library specializing in authors and peripheral themes, as well as a large common space in the garden. Entry is free.

Games for Change Latin America is a regional hub for Games for Change, the largest global nonprofit and community dedicated to driving real-world impact through games and immersive media. Founded in 2010 and supported by the “City of Knowledge” research group at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, G4C Latin America brings together social impact games and immersive media creators throughout Latin America. The chapter has hosted eleven festivals in Brazil since 2010. Since 2019, G4C Latin America hosts the “Pitch for Change” contest as a springboard for new ideas, prototypes, and start-ups that promote convergence between playfulness, education, technology, sustainability, entrepreneurship, and social change.

In 2024, G4C Latin America partners with the “Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie” (“Intelligent Quilombo” project) , the French Embassy, the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of São Paulo and the Institute of Iconomics in promoting a new ludic, social learning platform: UAIFAI (Universes of Access to Imagination, Fantasy and the Arts of Invention), promoting cryptocurrency-based (“Peace Coins”) rewards for children and teenagers engaged with transformative ludic activities.

Night of Ideias – Identities x Intelligences: Artificial

Free Registration

May 4 and 5, 2024, Museu das Favelas and Cidade do Conhecimento, USP

More information and registration:

https://doity.com.br/noite-das-ideias