PRESS RELEASE:
Sydney, 28 May 2018:
goto.game is partnering with the Australian Esports League (AEL) for Australia’s inaugural GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival at this year’s Vivid Sydney.
The first GIRLGAMER Festivals took place in Macau in 2017 and Portugal in 2018. In 2019, GIRLGAMER Festival is expanding to South Korea, Spain and Brazil, as well as Sydney.
goto.game will bring influential leaders in the gaming industry, including streamers, hosts and speakers such as Jessie ‘GeekGG’ James and Amy ‘HelloMissPotter’ Potter, to the GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival, and will manage and measure the performance of social media and promotional support across owned, earned and paid media using Digivizer’s real-time platform.
According to the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association’s Digital Australia Report 2018, 67% of Australians play video games and 46% of those are female. In an industry that grew 25% in Australia (IGEA) in 2018, women of all ages who play games of all genres are an important audience for gaming software and hardware companies, the esports sector and commercial sponsors.
Yet according to both Phid McAwesome of gotogame.temp927.kinsta.cloud and Darren Kwan of AEL, women remain under-represented in the esports world with large scale events historically highlighting the talents of men. GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival is an event to celebrate and shine a spotlight on women and those who identify as such in gaming.
“We feel passionate about ensuring diversity and equality across every industry we operate within. The GIRLGAMER Festival does just that – it champions the awesome women and role-models we see in the gaming and esports industries who lead the way for women and girls to participate in this highly engaged community. We will not rest until we see equal access to competitive and funding opportunities, and safety to play without harassment. As the saying goes, you can’t be what you can’t see. We are delighted to be engaged as a partner with AEL and help ensure the success of GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival.”
Emma Lo Russo, CEO of gotogame.temp927.kinsta.cloud and CEO of Digivizer
“It’s exciting to be partnering up with gotogame.temp927.kinsta.cloud on the GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival. Having been in the industry for over a decade now I can appreciate the professionalism, talent and platform gotogame.temp927.kinsta.cloud brings to add extra muscle to our marketing efforts. goto.game also has a reputation second-to-none for standing up for people of all genders, race, faith and orientation, and their right to be included in the gaming industry. We look forward to delivering an amazing event with gotogame.temp927.kinsta.cloud filling a key component of the team.”
Darren Kwan, Executive Producer of AEL
“goto.game has been an active supporter of diversity in gaming since our inception. Fifty per cent of the gamers we work regularly with are women, and gaming and esports is an activity in which women excel. All the research tells us that gamers participate more-often, more-deeply, and often with more expertise that fans of traditional sports: that applies to women and men. It’s the role of the industry to strip away inequality, something we should all do at every opportunity. So we’re delighted to support GIRLGAMER Festival Sydney with AEL.”
Phid McAwesome, Head of gotogame.temp927.kinsta.cloud
“GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival is about breaking down stereotypes and promoting young girls and women who are in the esports industry. We are proud to be working with the like-minded team at gotogame.temp927.kinsta.cloud on this incredible project, which will see some of the best players in our region compete, and many leaders in the space take the stage to share their story.”
Annabel ‘Punzie’ Kwan, Social Media Manager and Host for AEL, Creative Director for GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival
“It’s always a pleasure working with the gotogame.temp927.kinsta.cloud crew. They go above and beyond in their work and really understand the industry. I’m also excited to be hosting the GAMERGIRL Sydney Festival, an amazing opportunity to help support, encourage and celebrate women in Australian gaming and esports.”
Jessie ‘GeekGG’ James, streamer and Host for GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival
“I am incredibly excited and honoured to be part of the GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival, and create an environment to celebrate and encourage more women participating in esports. Carving out space for women in this industry is incredibly important to me. You can’t be what you can’t see and I want every woman to know there is a place for them here.”
Amy Potter, Host for GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival
GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival details
The GIRLGAMER Sydney Festival is part of Vivid Sydney at Chatswood. The live tournament will see players battle it out on stage, competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Blizzard’s Overwatch, and Super Smash Bros.
Venue: The Concourse, Chatswood
Date: 9th and 10th June, 2019
Schedule: 10am – 7pm
Prices: Normal Ticket – $20; Student Ticket – $15; Family Ticket – $40. Tickets available at https://www.girlgamer.gg/register/sydney/.
ENDS
goto.game is at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gotogame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoToGamers/
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/gotogame
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotogame.temp927.kinsta.cloud/
Web: www.gotogame.temp927.kinsta.cloud
