‘Often overlooked and written off’: SEGA opens its doors to Black teens with tech and gaming workshop
Global gaming giant teams up with The Safety Box CIC and Coding Black Females to empower young people
Black teenagers were hosted at SEGA Europe’s London headquarter for its fourth annual Intro to Gaming Workshop, offering a hands-on introduction to the games industry.
The event, held in Chiswick on Monday (15 December), was delivered through the game giant’s employee resource group RISE, in partnership with youth intervention social enterprise The Safety Box CIC and tech organisation Coding Black Females.
Participants took part in a practical coding session using Scratch and heard directly from SEGA staff about career pathways across the games sector, an industry where diversity remains limited.
Nathaniel Peat, founder of The Safety Box CIC, said the long-running collaboration is about about creating “real pathways into the tech world”.
“This partnership is a commitment to young people who have been overlooked, written off, or caught in the grip of risk, exploitation and gang influence,” Mr Peat told Black Current News.
“Together, we are creating opportunities, training and real pathways into the tech world for those who need it most, ultimately helping to change lives.”
Coding Black Females, the UK’s largest network of Black women developers, led the coding element of the workshop, continuing its work to broaden access to technology and games careers for young people from marginalised backgrounds.
Charlene Hunter, founder and CEO of Coding Black Females, said: “Since we first partnered with SEGA Europe and The Safety Box, we’ve seen first-hand how a single day of hands-on coding and industry exposure can completely shift a young person’s confidence and sense of what’s possible.”
Black professionals account for just 2% of the UK Gaming industry workforce, despite making up roughly 4% of the UK’s working-age population
However, this demographic forms an important part of the gaming audience, being 35% more likely to play games than the general population.
Charlene Strachan, Chair of RISE and Head of Technology Projects at SEGA Europe, described the importance of representation within this sector.
“This workshop matters to me on a personal level. As a Black woman in the Games industry, building this space where young people can create their own games is so powerful,” she said.
“When I was growing up, I didn’t have a lived example of representation in the Games industry, so I’d love these students to picture themselves in our SEGA offices and realise that they can absolutely belong here.
“I can’t wait to see how the next generation claims their place in the industry and I feel so lucky to witness the start of some of their journeys.”
For more information about The Safety Box CIC and Coding Black Females’ work, visit: https://www.thesafetybox.org/ and https://codingblackfemales.com/.