EGDF general assembly

Malmö, Sweden – May 19, 2009 – The EGDF, the European Game Developer Federation held its general assembly on May 18th. In the course of this event, the board was re-elected. The new board members are Erik Robertson (Spelplan-ASGD), Malte Behrmann (GAME), Klaus Hansen (Pro-DK), Alexander Fernandez (BGiN) and Guillaume de Fondaumière (SNJV). The newly elected chairman of the board is Guillaume de Fondaumière.

Guillaume de Fondaumiere commented on the general assembly, "I am deeply honored to have been elected President of the EGDF today. I would like to thank Fred Hasson for his dedication, enthusiasm and the hard work with which he lead the EGDF. He, Malte Behrmann, Erik Robertson and not least Malmo municipality, have contributed much over the past three years to build this indispensable organization from ground up. The EGDF played, in particular, a vital role two years ago, at a time when French developers were negotiating a 20% tax credit for French game developments with the European Union’s DG Competition. The EGDF is now well structured and still growing its membership and now capable of taking a central position in the coming years to make sure the European development sector remains vibrant and competitive. I shall do my best, in close cooperation with my fellow board members, to represent and defend the interests of all European studios.”

Fred Hasson, outgoing chairman of the EGDF added, "It’s been thrilling to help create this organisation and lead it in its early stages, and to see other countries in Europe ask to join the EGDF – It is sometimes difficult to understand the relevance of European politics, but there is too much at stake for developers today not to organize at this level.”

Fred Hasson will continue to work with the EGDF, leading the EGDF Online Interest Group.

“On the online issues, I am particularly concerned that at this moment in time, when the creative forces in the industry, the developers, have a chance to be at the centre of the value chain, that legislation and regulation relating to online could push developers to the periphery and damage innovation and new business models.“

Malte Behrmann, Secretary General of the EGDF said, "I thank Fred for his dedication in helping to build this organisation. I welcome Guillaume, as the co-head of a development studio which is pushing the boundaries of creativity to new frontiers. We are very proud that he will take over the EGDF chair."

The press conference also covered the announcement of the workshop KEEP@nordicgame. This workshop, which happens in cooperation with the http://www.keep-project.eu/ is specifically devoted to the preservation of computer games as a cultural good and will cover cultural and technological aspects.

About EGDF:

The European Games Developer Federation is committed to the stimulation and development of a stable, vibrant and creative European games development sector that is competitive globally and recognized culturally.

The EGDF will act to advance the political and economic interests of the European computer and video games industry by providing a platform for collaboration and discussion between European institutions and game developers.

The federation represents some 600 studios based in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom, which together employ about 18,000 people. The European computer and video games industry, including distributors and students in game educations, encompasses almost 100,000 individuals.

Contact:

Malte Behrmann

General Secretary

EGDF

Malte.Behrmann@egdf.eu

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