Design Meets Insight - Ep2: Building Diverse Digital Communities

Gaming, Technology and Esports creating digital communities.

‍

Our second episode features two inspirational women, Maria Stufkoph and Chelsea Slater. Maria is the director of the Maker Space at Salford University and a member of the advisory board of the British Esports Association and the Women in Esports Committee . Chelsea is the founder of ‘Innovate Her’, a values-led social enterprise that “gets girls ready for the tech industry and the industry ready for girls”.

‍

Listen on Spotify, Acast or Download MP3

‍

Design Meets Insight is hosted by Ben Stuart, an Associate Architect at Heta. This first mini series is guest curated by Nicky Wightman, Director of Emerging Trends at global real estate business Savills.

‍

Linkedin: Nicky Wightman

‍

Linkedin: Maria Stukoff

‍

Linkedin: Chelsea Slater

Listen to the podcast:

‍

Diversity is key to successful place making.

‍

Along with our guest curator, Nicky Wightman, Maria and Chelsea spoke to us about challenges women and girls continue to face within the tech sector, but also how things are changing. Gaming and Esports, with their inclusive and welcoming cultures, are key players in driving this shift.

‍

Community access across all ages and backgrounds is essential to building loyalty and a sense of belonging.  These activities – the playing of video games and the competitive world built around it - are leading the way in connecting virtual interactions with physical spaces for truly immersive experiences that are rooted in a need for diversity, not just amongst audiences, but also those designing these spaces.

'Esports are setting a new precedent for these big entertainment arenas, these fan fair of theme parks where you bring in tournaments and look at what you put around them...really connecting virtual experience with quite physical spaces. In setting up these entertainment environments and theme parks, it's very important to make sure community access is at the heart of them.'

‍

_{Maria Stukoff: Director of the Maker Space at Salford University and a member of the advisory board of the British Esports Association and the Women in Esports Committee}