Article: Asi Burak – With Great Power comes Great Responsibility

Digital games are becoming a mature medium, an expressive art form and a tool for social change. We are barely scratching the surface. Just like books, theatre, TV or cinema, games will one day lure all tastes and players of all ages. But first we have to dismantle the notion of the ‘Gamer’. And with great power comes great responsibility.

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ABOUT Asi Burak

“Games will soon speak to all of us, they’ll broaden the intellectual landscape, and address a wider range of emotions. Asi Burak is the co-president of Games for Change. He leads on the curation, development and execution of programmes and services to raise the production, quality and influence of social impact games, and serves as a spokesperson for the organisation.

Jointly, he and Michelle Byrd work on the strategic vision of the organisation and oversee all programme initiatives. Prior to coming on board as Co-President, Asi joined Games for Change as Executive Producer in the Spring. He is the award-winning Executive Producer who co-founded ‘Impact Games’ and created the internationally acclaimed ‘PeaceMaker’ and ‘Play the News’ gaming platforms.

He also served as a consultant to companies such as Newsweek and McCann Erickson, around the strategic use of games to further brand engagement. He is often interviewed by international media (BBC World, ABC, Al-Jazeera, NPR, The New York Times, Time, Wired), and has been invited to speak at conferences and institutions including The Sundance Film Festival, The Skoll World Forum, SXSW, GDC, and The US Army War College.

A native of Israel, Asi was VP of Marketing and Product at Axis Mobile (acquired 2008), where he introduced pioneering mobile apps and games to a worldwide market (Asia, Europe, U.S.). He holds a Masters of Entertainment Technology from Carnegie Mellon and a BA in Design from the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem.”

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