This Creative Exchange brings together three eminent international guests to discuss why people game, where gaming and mental health can intersect, and how gamification is being employed across many different industry sectors to improve mental well-being.
When: Thursday 5 October 2023, 11am - 12.30pm (approx.) Venue: Swanston Hall, Melbourne Town Hall, 90-130 Swanston St, MelbourneCost: Free, but bookings essential via the link
According to the latest data, there are approximately 3.09 billion active video gamers worldwide. That figure has risen by over 1 billion in just seven years and is expected to hit 3.32 billion by 2024.
As the world of digital gaming grows exponentially, a new avenue of research examining how video games can be valuable tools for self-exploration and positively influence mental well-being has also emerged.
This Creative Exchange brings together moderator, Holly Ransom, with three eminent international guests - Sarah Sorrell, Dr Vasilios Stavropoulos and Darren Vukasinovic - to discuss why people game, where gaming and mental health can intersect, and how gamification is being employed across many different industry sectors to improve mental well-being.
Tea, coffee and refreshments provided.
Meet the presenters
Dr Vasileios Stavropoulos is an academic and professional clinical psychologist. His research battles the health risks and embraces the benefits of digital gaming usage via focusing on the exploration of risk and protective factors, measurement issues, elements that make gamified applications engaging, and digital phenotyping for mental health. He currently works as an Associate Professor psychology at RMIT University.
Darren Vukasinovic is an immersive installation artist who creates experiences that intersect technology, art and narrative. He creates immersive realities in the physical world with no apparent layers of technology to inspire individuals, challenge human perception, build empathy and shift consciousness. His work is built upon foundational principles derived from neuroscience, psychology, mythology and spirituality, creating spaces that evoke curiosity in the conscious mind in order to influence the subconscious in positive and meaningful ways.
Holly Ransom is the founder and CEO of consulting firm, Emergent; author of The Leading Edge; co founder, chief curator, and catalyst at Energy Disruptors, winning ‘Best Conference’ in Canada for its work up catalysing collaboration across the energy industry. As a renowned speaker and master interviewer, Holly has led discussions with influential figures such as Barak Obama, Malcolm Gladwell, Billie-Jean King, Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus, and the world’s first humanoid robot, Sophia.