Three Derry women named in prestigious NESTA New Radicals list

Three Derry women who founded company Kippie C.I.C. have been named in the prestigious NESTA list of 50 New Radicals for their work using video games to explore social issues such as LGBT rights and racism.

Derry-based company Kippie C.I.C. has been named in a list of 50 New Radicals compiled by NESTA and The Observer, a UK-wide award that recognises individuals and organisations tackling large societal issues in creative ways. Kippie C.I.C. was founded by Katherine Rowlandson, Caroline Anderson, and Justine Scoltock in 2016 and uses video games as a medium to explore important issues such as xenophobia and LGBT rights.

"While many people perceive video gaming as being negative or a waste of time, a few years ago my sister Caroline, my friend Justine and I started thinking about the possibilities of harnessing the positive storytelling power of gaming," explained Katherine Rowlandson. "We thought about how game design and the logical step-by-step nature of games - where specific actions have specific consequences - could be used as a tool to help people explore issues and events in their lives."

The group initially ran several workshops and exhibitions using digital gaming to help communicate ideas to young people in Derry, and went on to see significant success via The People’s Accelerator Programme, a scheme run by Amplify NI. "The People’s Accelerator Programme was a huge help to us in bringing Kippie to where it is today," commented Katherine Rowlandson, adding that "It gave us the confidence to build a business around that and not trying to compromise what we do to win grants."

Source: Press Release, Nesta