The UNICEF Game Jam
The first-ever UNICEF game jam to celebrate creativity, collaboration and digital skills through video game development
The UNICEF Game Jam (August – September 2025) brought together young people from eight countries (Armenia, Brazil, Cambodia, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco, and South Africa) to celebrate creativity, collaboration and digital skills through video game development.
Over a 40-day period, participants created and submitted original video games, supported by mentorship sessions and a new self-paced online course hosted on UNICEF’s learning platform Agora.
Over 50 video games were submitted by young creators bursting with creativity and talent. Their work was carefully reviewed by a jury of renowned experts and industry leaders from top-tier gaming and tech companies, including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Dambuster Studios, Samsung and Micron.
Supporting young creators every step of the way
To help participants bring their ideas to life, the UNICEF Game Jam offered mentorship sessions with industry experts and an online course designed to guide young creators through the game development process.
From sparking creative concepts to building technical skills such as paper prototyping and game audio, participants were provided with direct access to practical tools and valuable insights from industry leaders. This support ensured that every young person, whether an experienced developer or a first-time creator, could grow their confidence and skills.
“Your participation in this game jam shows you are passionate. When hiring for entry-level roles in the industry, your passion must shine through as well as your skill set.”
Holly Savin, Gameplay Tools Programmer at Dambuster and UNICEF Game Jam mentor.
“If I had one piece of advice I would have loved to know when I started, it is this: the person who dares wins. Take that first step, try, don’t be afraid to fail. You can start small by joining game jams like this one.”
Gaelle Giroud, Community Manager at Ubisoft and UNICEF Game Jam mentor.
Celebrating our jury of experts
We are grateful to the jury members who dedicated their time, and expertise to review the submissions. Drawing on their diverse experience across the tech and gaming industries, they offered thoughtful evaluations that shone a light on the creativity and talent of the young creators:
Dambuster Studios
- Nia Wearn – Producer
- Anna Marsh – Game Design Director
- Catalina Luca – Lead Infrastructure Engineer
- Millie Shaw – Talent Acquisition Coordinator
Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Daniel Dyball – Public Policy Director, UK & APAC
WIG Ambassadors
- Sandra Zlatowska
- Xiange Wang
- Jo Kirkland
- Nicolle Herrera
- Aisyah Kambok
- Maud Bleu
- Malvika Bhuta
Samsung
- Jinwon Leo Park – In charge of Display / TV / Robot services
Micron
- Johnny VanDerschaaf – Visual Media Manager
- James Van Patten – Director, Memory and Storage Product Line Management
Led by the UNICEF Game Changers Coalition, the game jam is part of a broader effort to equip adolescent girls with the STEAM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) they need -and want- to become the coders, designers, and leaders of a more inclusive and safe digital future.
