Games for Health Conference 2010
Six annual event scheduled for May 25th-27th in Boston.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOSTON – March 4, 2010 – The Games for Health Project, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, today announced its first wave of confirmed content and early registration for the sixth annual Games for Health Conference, to be held at the Hyatt Harborside Hotel in Boston from May 25 to 27.
Building on the success of previous years, the 2010 conference promises to provide even more insight around the use of interactive video games advancing heath and health care through exergaming, active games, health training games, disease management efforts and more.
“It’s been exciting to see the increasing momentum around the healthy games industry since our first conference five years ago,” said Ben Sawyer, founder of the Games for Health Project. “We are looking forward to once again offering attendees an interactive and dynamic conference platform with viable content, networking opportunities and this year, an increased emphasis on community led tracks.”
CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
The two-day conference will offer over 40 sessions featuring 60 speakers covering a wide range of topics such as exergaming, rehabilitation, physical therapy, disease management, health behavior change, bio-feedback, epidemiology, medical training, cognitive and emotional health, nutrition and health education. This diverse group of presentations will include sessions such as:
Global Health & Games Panel. Discussion and assessment of the role of video games in improving global health initiatives. Dreams and Video Game Play. Jayne Gackenbach of Grant MacEwan University will at look how hardcore video game play changes fundamental qualities of dreams in the player, and the ways in which players process cognitive and emotional information. Wii Game for Laporscopic Surgery. Tim Laning of Grendel Games will discuss how off-the-shelf technology can create a new learning training environment for doctors. What Kids Get Out of Video Games – The Presence of Games in Healthy Child Development. Dr. Cheryl K. Olson will share research on health child development to help game developers and parents consider a new way of at looking at children and electronic games.GAMES BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT WEEK
New this year is the launch of the Games Beyond Entertainment Week—featuring more than ten unique one- and two-day conference events (including the marquee Games for Health Conference) designed to explore serious games and emerging market opportunities for game technologies.
Notable in this week of events, and taking place on May 25, prior to the Games for Health Conference kickoff, are:
3rd Annual Games Accessibility Day. This event focuses on making all games more accessible and helping people with disabilities play their way to better health and wellness. 3rd Annual Virtual Worlds and Health Day. This event explores the entire spectrum of opportunities in virtual spaces related to health, health care, multiplayer games and social virtual worlds. 1st Annual Mobile Serious Games Day. This event hones in on serious games in the mobile and handheld space and features a specific track focused on mobile serious games for health.REGISTER EARLY
Last year’s Games for Health Conference sold out early so interested attendees are encouraged to register early, which also ensures better pricing. Registration information, a schedule overview (complete schedule available early April) and related links can be found at www.gamesforhealth.org <http://www.gamesforhealth.org> .
For more details on other Games Beyond Entertainment Week events, please visit: www.gamesbeyondentertainment.com.
ABOUT THE GAMES FOR HEALTH PROJECT
Games for Health, the leading professional community in the field of health games, brings together the best minds in game development and health care to advance game technologies that improve health and the delivery of health care. Games for Health is funded primarily by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which supports innovative ideas that may lead to significant breakthroughs in the future of health and health care. For more information, please visit: www.gamesforhealth.org.
ABOUT THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. The Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio supports innovative ideas and projects that may lead to important breakthroughs in health and health care. Projects in the Pioneer Portfolio are future-oriented and look beyond conventional thinking to explore solutions at the cutting edge of health and health care. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, please visit www.rwjf.org/pioneer.
Contact:
Carrie Barnes
(215) 239-4643
carrie@elisecommunications.com