CATAPULT.digital, in the Games sector
After witnessing a thriving period between 2016 and 2019, the Gaming industry in Lebanon was confronted with the withdrawals of investors and a general weakening of the ecosystem due to the multiplicity of crises locally. Although many organisations with educational, commercial, or humanitarian initiatives kept an interest in the sector, questions of infrastructure and sustainability were not being addressed.
In partnership with Lebanese Game Developers (LGD), British Council Lebanon launched CATAPULT.digital to support the sector, particularly in relation to identifying the strengths and challenges of existing social entrepreneurship policies and programmes, responding to the lack of educational programmes and university curricula for game development, and accessing opportunities for building markets and networks both locally and regionally for the gaming sector.
But first, a CATAPULT Podcast
In the first episode of the CATAPULT Podcast series (see below), Joseph Azzam, Iyad El-Hout and Ashraf Abi-Said of Lebanese Games Developers (LGD) have discussed how cultivating a collaborative culture of peer-to-peer support in the games sector can have positive returns. The conversation also highlighted the community’s achievements and shared how the partners have built on those to enable the LGD community to expand its network in the UK.
Arabic Games Conference 2021
Since 2017, the Lebanese Game Developers (LGD) community initiative has steadily grown into a hub of 370 actively participating games and interactive experiences developers. Whilst lacking in structure, LGD has instigated momentum for the local gaming sector on a regional level in its initiation of programmes that attempt to compensate for the shortage of institutional contribution to a growing industry’s advancement. One such programme is the Arabic Games Conference (AGC), a celebration of games and interactive experiences designed by Arab creators in the Arab world. CATAPULT.digital was launched with the second edition of the Arabic Games Conference. It brought together 28 leading industry experts - half of whom are women - from 13 Arab game development communities in a series of 4 technical talks, 3 documentary-style videos, 1 panel, and a showcase of 35 regional games. The programme facilitated access to educational resources, opportunities, and professional advice, including over 60 individual portfolio review and mentorship sessions. The proceedings generated 1.6K streams on YouTube, 1.4K participants on Twitter, Facebook, Twitch and LinkedIn, and witnessed the interaction of 500 participants on Discord throughout the 6-hour event - here is a link to a recording of the event.
In addition, British Council Lebanon facilitated the establishment of the Arabic Games Conference as a legal entity to enable it to raise funds and grow.
London Games Festival 2022
Our alliance with LGD became fruitful at an opportune time when, due to the pandemic, virtual interconnectedness became common practice, and building networks both nationally and internationally was less obstructed than ever. Following the conference’s success, British Council Lebanon organised an open call to enable a delegation of 23 community members to attend the primary programming of London Games Festival (LGF), the UK’s biggest spotlight for video games and the interactive entertainment industry. In April 2022, the delegation has highlighted the network’s achievements and showcased locally-developed games in an array of networking events. 5 game development studios have had the chance to take part in exclusive investor pitches for up to £300,000 in capital, and the opportunity to forge strong partnerships and meaningful connections.
