It's game on for diversity and young people as Urban Synergy joins forces with Sony Interactive Entertainment!
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Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) support Urban Synergy’s mission.
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Youth empowerment activities offered to redress black underrepresentation in the gaming industry.
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Support raising the aspirations of young people by illuminating career pathways.
Urban Synergy is proud to have received Sony Interactive Entertainment’s help to empower young people to write their own futures and build a more diverse workforce.
Together with Sony Interactive Entertainment, Urban Synergy will support young people across Greater London through online career e-Seminars, and 1-2-1 E-Mentoring for teenagers.
Our e-Mentoring and e-Seminars, which reached more than 6,500 young people last year, will be supported by SIE, helping to inspire, guide, and ignite the ambitions of young talent from underrepresented communities.
The support will advance outreach programs and create opportunities for game developer and gaming expert engagement as well as ongoing connections between Sony Interactive Entertainment and communities around the country.
In the UK, the Games Industry Census 2022* shows that only 9% of people working in the video game industry are Black, Asian or minority ethnic, which is lower than the equivalent figure for IT and software fields, as well as below the average in the working-age population. When broken down, only 2% of that group are Black, which is lower than the fraction of Black people in the working-age population at 3.4%.
It also found that while Black, Asian, or minority ethnic workers can be found broadly equally in all job roles, with a small skew towards more non-sector specific roles, they are noticeably less represented in senior positions.
We hope that by showing relatable role models in the video game sector to young people, we will encourage them to pursue careers in the gaming industry and rectify the underrepresentation we currently see.
Together with SIE, we are working to raise awareness and take action to address the global issue of racial injustice by unlocking support that drives impact for society at large.
Leila Thomas, CEO & Founder of Urban Synergy, said:
“We know that talent is everywhere, but opportunities are not. Through this strategic partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment, we hope to drive change.
Not only will the leaders and volunteers provide insight into the gaming and entertainment industries, but the PlayStation brand will also appeal to young people thinking about joining our programmes. We look forward to positively impacting young people with Stuart and his wider team.”
Stuart Whyte, Studio Head at PlayStation London Studio, said:
“I’m proud of our industry, but it could be even better with the dynamism and imagination that more diverse creators and developers would bring. This partnership will make change happen sooner. I can’t wait to work with Urban Synergy to inspire more young people to join our industry.”
Urban Synergy is a youth empowerment charity on a mission to inspire, guide and ignite the ambitions of young people.
Our approach focuses on early support to build confidence and show young people what’s possible. We connect them with aspirational - yet relatable - role models, mentors, and industry-leading companies.
Understanding that every young person, their circumstance, and their dreams are unique, we tailor our school programmes, mentoring and work experience opportunities to help them reach their potential.
With the collaboration of our valued partners, we are building an equitable world where everyone, regardless of their background, is empowered to write their own future.
On October 13th 2020, we formally launched our Corporate Advisory Board of strategic partners to create a more ethnically diverse City and support our mission to build a diverse work-ready talent pipeline of Black Minority Ethnic and disadvantaged young people. The Corporate Advisory Board members include Goldman Sachs, UK Power Networks, Dynamic Planner, EC1 Partners, DMGT and the London Stock Exchange Group.
*Data Source: https://ukie.org.uk/census2022