She Got Game is a mentorship program initiated by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia to promote equal opportunities in the Swiss and international videogames scene and to promote a growing number of women in leading roles within the videogame industry. It includes formats to em-power participants, foster international exchange with peers and industry veterans and promote discussions around the topic of women in games.   

Participants will benefit from the following:

• 15 hours of 1:1 online mentorship with an international industry expert  
• Several online lectures to develop entrepreneurial and professional skills  
• Being part of a growing community of emerging female game developers  
• An access to a Discord channel for online, open and informal exchanges among peers  
• The possibility to take part in a game design festival or fair   
• Visibility for their projects  
• A grant of 3000 CHF as financial support to produce their prototype/demo 

The programme will run over a period of 6 months. All sessions will be held in English. 

Eligibility criteria for applicants: 

• The call is aimed at emerging game designers who identify as women     
• The call is open for emerging talents working on an independent interactive media project for devices such as computers, game consoles, mobile devices, or for mixed reality, the use of which requires a high degree of interaction and has a major impact on the content  
• The call is open to emerging game designers who have completed their professional training in a relevant field or who founded a company (as a legal entity) less than seven years ago 
• Applications are accepted from emerging game designers who are citizens or long-term residents of Switzerland or of the region covered by a liaison office of Pro Helvetia (Arab region, China, South America, South Asia, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa) 
• Cultural practitioners based in a region covered by a liaison office of Pro Helvetia may apply via the website of the corresponding liaison office (Global Network).

The She Got Game programme has a demanding schedule. Please note that the program requires an invest-ment of approximately 30 hours for mentorship, lectures and presentations during its 6-month duration (plus additional time for delegation to a festival/event).   

By applying to the program, you accept the above conditions and agree to provide the Pro Helvetia project team with the following: 

• Portrait photo (high-resolution) for promotional purposes  
• Short biography? (420 characters) for promotional purposes  
• Text about your project (approx. 150 characters) for promotional purposes  
• Feedback statement about your mentorship (approx. 500 characters) for promotional purposes at the end of the program  

Please apply via this form by Sunday 3 December 2023, 23:59 CET, with the following documentation:  

• Contact information 
• Short CV (please include your education, nationality and/or residence status)  
• Portfolio of projects  
• Concept description or Game Design document of the project you are currently working on with visual material  

After the deadline has passed, the applications will be assessed, and you will be informed about the decision by mid-December 2023. In January 2024, the program will be launched with the mandatory Kick-Off event (online) where mentors and participants will get to know each other. After this event, the pairing of mentors and mentees will be made.   

 The mentors:  

• Dajana Dimovska, Co-CEO and Business Development Manager, NapNok Games, CEO Indium Play  
• Stephanie Darrah, Associate Producer, Playtonic Ltd 
• Yasemin Günay, Co-Founder, Koboldgames  
• Violetta Leoni, Executive Producer, One-O-One Games  
• Dasha Nasonova, Game Designer and Architect, Founder of Adagia  
• Sithe Ncube, Associate Producer, Nyamakop; Strategic Advisor, Black Game Developer Fund 
• Martina Santoro, Founder, OKAM studio; Founder, Latam Video Games Federation; Unreal Engine Evangelist, Epic Games  
• Poornima Seetharaman, Associate General Manager, Zynga; Women in Games Ambassador  
• Natasha Skult, Founder and CEO, MiTale; IGDA Chair  
• Chriss Vasquez Reyes, Producer, Gamaga; Partner and COO, Racoon Party Games; Organizer, Global Game Jam LATAM   
• Allison Yang Jing, Founder and Game Director, Light Cone Interactive; Researcher and Curator 

Note: the number of participants in the program is limited. The applicants who best meet the criteria and who are more likely to benefit from the mentoring will be selected.  

In case of questions or feedback, please contact Ladina Taxer: ltaxer@prohelvetia.ch   

We are looking forward to receiving your application!