The initiative took place at Nave do Engenhão and aims to encourage future generations who dream of working in the field of electronic games

The Municipal Secretariat of Science and Technology (SMCT) promoted a meeting between 100 professionals who work in the development of games from 10 countries in the world and occupy the most diverse areas in the sector, with more than 100 students from municipal schools, who dream of joining this universe and build a professional career. The meeting, which was also attended by three NGOs from the Rocinha Community (Lutando Para Crescer, Vivendo um Sonho Surf and Tio Lino), took place last Friday (01/07), at the Nave do Conhecimento in Engenhão. The professionals are participants in GameJamPlus, the world's largest competitive game development marathon whose objective is to transform games into businesses.

The City of Rio, through SMCT, launched last month the Games and E-sports Coordination, the first body in Brazil dedicated to the games area. The objective of the Coordination is to seek returns for the municipality in several areas such as tourism, tax collection, social development, education, entertainment, new careers and opportunities in the job market, as well as to stimulate the entire games industry and its ecosystem.

– We have to promote initiatives like this and transform Rio into the center of the game sector in the country. It is an industry that currently earns more than cinema and music combined. Our role is to create public policies that provide new opportunities for our young people – highlighted Willian Coelho, municipal secretary of Science and Technology.

Electronic games cannot be seen only as entertainment. They work as an important tool for social and educational inclusion, as they stimulate creativity, memory and attention in practitioners.

– Our mission has always been to democratize the universe of games, in addition to training talent around the world. We want children and teenagers who already have this desire to work with games to know that this universe is much bigger than you imagine. And the space at Nave do Conhecimento is ideal for that – explains Ian Rochlin, CEO of GameJamPlus.

The initiatives are already bearing fruit. Matheus Valério, 12 years old, was one of the highlights of the free Game Development course, offered at Engenhão's Knowledge Nave. Together with his classmates, he created a game, and envisions becoming a professional in the future and having the chance to work in this sector of electronic games as a Game Developer and Game Designer.

– I always wanted to work in game development. Through the Nave do Knowledge course, I got to know tools I had never seen before, such as the intuitive panel. Electronic games are not just entertainment. They can give me a future – said the student, who lives in Engenho Novo.

Source: Social Communication Office | Rio de Janeiro's city hall