2016-05-06
Electronic Arts
Girls’Day – it's a special occasion for everyone involved: Each year, a number of companies and universities invite schoolgirls ages 10 to 15 to learn about vocational training and study courses in areas where women have been underrepresented. Girls’Day and similar events now take place in more than 20 countries, including France, Spain, and Japan. The idea for Girls’Day originated in the USA: Since 1993, there has been a day each year on which daughters can visit their parents at work.
Since 2001, over 1.5 million girls have participated in Girls’Day in Germany alone – gaining insight into IT, trade, natural sciences, and engineering. On Girls’Day 2016 last week, seven of those girls spent time at the German office of Electronic Arts in Cologne. Starting with a general introduction to the company and a tour of its premises, they then got down to the nitty gritty – five EA staff presented their respective work to the 11 to 14-year-old girls:
From left to right: Fabian Weichert (Youth Protection Specialist), Victoria Danko (Junior Artist), Maike Schumacher (Trade Marketing Manager), Thao Wagner (Legal Counsel), Nicole Floren (Senior Product Marketing Manager), Mia, Isabella, Rose, Ariane, Linnéa, Nadine Monschau (Senior Manager Localization)
A big fan of The Sims, Isabella was especially interested in product marketing and the legal department's work. Isabella frequently chooses the burglar career path for her Sims – however, they keep getting arrested so she has decided not to pursue a career as a thief herself. Instead, the 13-year-old sees her future in work that focusses on constructive creativity.
Mia, of the same age as Isabella and her friend, is drawn to creativity: She wants to work in film production or as a designer, with her interest ranging from fashion to game design. She's thrilled about the Girls’Day concept and the opportunity to get a glimpse behind the scene at EA: "I think it's awesome because I play The Sims and wanted to know what goes on here."
Mia is particularly fascinated by the work of the Data Collection and Licensing Group, which operates from Cologne but is part of the developer team at EA Canada. Among other things, the group ensures that the skills, performance, and looks of soccer players represented in the FIFA series are always reflected accurately in the game.
Linnéa and Ariane also found their way to EA together: The 11-year-olds are friends, girl scouts and – of course – Sims fans. After junior artist Victoria Danko gave them an introduction to video development, the girls uses a digital pencil to colour in the picture Victoria had drawn right on the image screen.
It was a special day, and one that not only the girls enjoyed – the participating EA employees found the Girls’Day 2016 to be equally exciting and diverting: "It was a lot of fun to show the girls a bit of what our work is about. We're definitely doing it again in 2017!“ Victoria said.
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