Nike Needs Gamers to Unleash the Girl Effect

[Colman Chamberlain]

BACKGROUND:

Nike believes in the power of unleashing human potential – on the field, on the court, and in life. At the Nike Foundation, we take the power of potential to a new playing field to combat one of the most pressing issues of our time: global poverty.

When the Nike Foundation started in 2004, we sought the best investment with the highest returns. We traced the symptoms of poverty back to their roots, and it led us to an unexpected solution and a catalyst for change: adolescent girls. 

When a girl in the developing world realizes her potential, she isn’t the only one who escapes poverty—she brings her family, community, and country with her. It’s a leverage strategy that can’t be beat. That’s why adolescent girls are our exclusive focus.

Investing in a girl stops poverty before it starts. That’s the girl effect. And absolutely everything we do supports the Girl Effect: the unique potential of 250 million adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves and the world.

THE JOB(s):

Whether we're supporting girls to redefine what it means to be an adolescent girl  by giving them a voice 90,000+ strong via a girl-led national newspaper or building a movement and inspiring millions through a country's first girl band, Nike Foundation is at the forefront of innovation in development.  We leverage what works and empower girls to lead us to the solutions they need most.  

In an effort to continue innovating, we are seeking exceptional gaming minds to help us leverage gaming across our programs and distribution channels (magazines, radio shows, mobile web platforms, SMS systems, national aid programs…), bridging the analog and digital and increasing the impact of our work.  A few of the projects we are seeking gaming gurus on are listed below:

Ni Nyampinga

Our Rwandan social media platform, Ni Nyampinga, creates the time and space for girls to connect, grow and learn.  In Rwandan tradition, when a girl completed urubohero—a respected weaving circle for women and girls—she would become nyampinga. ‘Ni Nyampinga’—it is the beautiful girl who makes good decisions. 

Launched in November 2011, Ni Nyampinga’s core products are a bi-monthly magazine and weekly radio show—created for girls, by girls. Ni Nyampinga magazine is now the most widely distributed publication in Rwanda: 90,000 copies are distributed every quarter, covering 60 per cent of the country (the next closest distributed publication is the national newspaper which prints 7,000 copies). Ni Nyampinga weekly radio show spans the entire country via six radio stations and brings the stories and themes of the magazine to life. Ni Nyampinga inspires and enables girls. It shapes how societies view and value girls. And informs and influences decision makers to invest in girls.

In bringing gaming to the Ni Nyampinga platform we hope to find new ways to connect girls, spur interaction amongst girls, and deliver the tangible and intangible assets girls need to survive and thrive (inspiration, education, financial literacy, money…).  Cracking how analog tools can accomplish these goals will be paramount.

Platform Media Components

Radio: a weekly 30minute radio show produced for girls and by girls

Road shows: A vehicle for getting the brand ‘out there’ / marketing – crowd puller  events where the key messages can be passed on live & in print hand outs. We can also use this as an opportunity for school club engagement and community participation. 

Print: a magazine that reached more than 90,000 girls every three months

Interactive: SMS feedback system / website & facebook / PO BOX for letters 

Girl Band in a Box (country removed as local brand has yet to launch)

5 girls discover a shared love of music that will make them the most respected group in their school. We will follow their rise on a weekly radio drama where we discover more about our girls and their lives. Within each episode, the group will use music to deal with issues important to youth today. 

The drama is followed up by a weekly talk show where an issue in the drama is discussed in more depth. There will be weekly guests and audience participation. On the ground, we will tap into an existing culture of school clubs and encourage the formation of clubs that mimic the girl group on the radio and provide them with ‘club-in-a-box’ that will contain curriculums for the term as well as games, activities and materials to help them develop the best club in school. 

In addition to all of this, we will market the girls’ music and launch an album that will be a new sound for the country and will carry their message across the country. This will be accompanied by music videos and a road show where we will enable local clubs to compete to perform in front of the community.

In bringing gaming to the Girl Band in a Box we hope to find new ways to build, accelerate, grow, and connect clubs in the most analog of ways (due to lack of tech access).  Exploring how clubs work and how they can deliver the tangible and intangible assets girls need to survive and thrive (inspiration, education, financial literacy, money…) will also be a priority.  

Platform Media Components

Radio: a long-running drama series exploring the lives & adventures of the girl band and a follow up talk show 

Clubs: mimicking the club the girl band set up, we encourage youth to set up similar clubs in their schools where they explore ways to find their voice, inspire girls and their communities to dream bigger & aim higher for girls. 

Live shows: A vehicle for getting the band ‘out there’ / marketing – a crowd puller  event where the key messages can be passed on live & in print hand outs. We can also use this as an opportunity for school club engagement and community participation. 

Print: Advertising to market the band / club-in-a-box packs for after school clubs 

Videos: Pop videos for best songs (TV & you tube)

Interactive: SMS feedback system / website & facebook / PO BOX for letters 

OUR DREAM CO-CONSPIRATORS:

We need the gamers who truly believe that games can change the world.  We need the ones with years of experience, particularly those with years of experience beyond the digital realm.  While we would love the ones who can build spaceships to take our ideas high in the sky, we really want the ones who know that a cardboard box might be just as powerful a tool.   We want the reverse engineers, the travelers, the ones who know how to talk to our clients-GIRLS, the wildly almost insane creatives… 

I guess we may be dreaming here a bit, but if this sounds like you then we want you.  

Looking forward to hearing from all you dreamers and anyone who might be able to help guide us to the dreamers.

[Please note: The projects listed above are our most immediate gaming needs that are fully funded-this is not a volunteer opportunity post.  Nike Foundation also has several other funded projects that we will be seeking gaming expertise on within the next 3-6 months so if these two don't fit your expertise, feel free to reach out to us with more information on your gaming powers.]

[The Mayor]

This looks really awesome. I hope our monsters make the most of it! 

[Emily Bruno]

AWESOME.

[Len Histon]

I feel I have exactly the tool you seek. I'm a dreamer literally! Over 20 years ago I saw a game being played ina dream and it's taken me all this time to truly honor it is as powerful as I first expected. If you want girls, or anyone for that matter to 'connect' in the real world, you will love this game. Please go to the Web Page www.thewizzdomclub.com (the interview at the bottom of the home page tells the whole story) or the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheWizzdomGame

I'm Australian, in America right now and we are willing to introduce this amazing game to the world.

My name is Len and can be contacted at [e-mail]