Coverage Update 10/3/2008:

Here's a link to Public Radio station WAMC's coverage: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1379277&sectionID=715

Here's a link to WCAX (CBS) TV coverage with both a written description AND video clip (click on the video camera icon).
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=9100693&nav=menu183_17_3_14

BURLINGTON, Vt. (Sept. 28, 2008) - Aminata Toure, an internationally-known leader in human rights, will spend two days meeting with Champlain College students and faculty to work on a United Nations' funded project aimed at reducing gender violence in developing nations.

The Emergent Media Center at Champlain College and Population Media Center were awarded a grant from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to carry out the project, which consists of creating an electronic game for boys and young men in developing nations aimed at preventing violence against women. The game will evolve into a global initiative, with an initial focus on South Africa.

Aminata Toure, chief of the Gender, Human Rights and Culture Branch of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), will speak about international women's health challenges in a community lecture on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 5 pm at Hauke Family Campus Center's Conference Room at Champlain College. A question and answer session will follow her talk. This event is free and open to the public.

In August, a team of 13 students majoring in e-game design, programming, and art and animation, marketing, e-biz, software engineering, and education spent 10 days on a research and information-gathering trip to Cape Town, South Africa.

"While we were there, the students took the first steps in tackling this complex and challenging project," according to Ann DeMarle, producer of the project and the Emergent Media Center. DeMarle and Champlain College's EMC staff - Project Manager Ray McCarthy Bergeron, Operations Manager Sarah Jerger, newly-hired Creative Director Heather Kelley, as well as new Marketing faculty member, Megan Frenzen, accompanied the Champlain students on the fact-finding trip in late August.

"The purpose of the trip was to conduct extensive formative research focusing on consumer behavior, education, game play, art styles and influences, interpersonal relations, and gender inequalities," DeMarle said.

While in Cape Town, students and faculty met with dozens of school children, teachers, university students, victims of abuse, aid workers, media specialists and many other critical individuals and groups.

The information they gathered will be used to begin the electronic game development at Champlain College. Toure will meet with the project's students while at Champlain College to review their research and development proposals.

A photo exhibit of the development team's experience in South Africa is on display at the Emergent Media Center, located in the Champlain Mill in Winooski. It is open to the public. Or visit the blog about the students' experience in South Africa , visit http://emc-gamestakeonvaw.blogspot.com/

Champlain College, a private baccalaureate institution, was founded in 1878. Located in Burlington, Champlain College is a national leader in educating students to become skilled practitioners, effective professionals and global citizens. It was ranked 12^th in the top tier of Best Comprehensive Colleges in the North by U.S. News and World Report's America's Best Colleges 2009. Champlain has approximately 2,000 students, presenting 32 states and 17 countries. It has study abroad programs that include campuses in Montreal, Quebec and a newly opened campus in Dublin, Ireland. For more information, visit www.champlain.edu

Population Media Center (PMC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization headquartered in Shelburne, Vt. PMC works worldwide to promote use of effective communication strategies for promoting behavior change to improve family and reproductive health. The organization's work is concentrated on entertainment broadcasting, particularly on long-running serial dramas in which characters evolve into role models for adoption of family planning, delayed marriage and childbearing, elevation of women's status, avoidance of HIV/AIDS, and related social and health goals.

PMC has completed or currently has programs in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Eastern Caribbean, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Mali, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, the Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, the United States, and Vietnam. PMC has 54 full-time staff worldwide. PMC currently maintains offices in Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mali, Malawi, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Senegal. For more information, visit www.populationmedia.org

Calendar Listing:

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHT LECTURE with Animata Toure, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 5 p.m. Hauke Family Campus Center, Conference Room. Aminata Toure, chief of the Gender, Human Rights and Culture Branch of the United Nations Population Fund will speak on "United Nations Population Fund's Response to International Women's Health Challenges." Question and answer period to follow. Presented by the Emergent Media Center at Champlain College and Population Media Center based in Shelburne. Free and open to the public. For more information, www.champlain.edu.

Background Information/ Aminata Toure Champlain College Visit

Aminata Toure, UNFPA

Aminata Toure is the Chief of the Gender, Human Rights and Culture Branch of the United Nations Population Fund-UNFPA based in New York.

Toure holds a M.A. in Economics from the University of Aix Marseille, France, a MBA from the University of Dijon, France and a PhD in International Business Management from the International School of Management, Paris.

Toure started her career in 1987 in the private sector in Senegal, her home-country; she led the Marketing Department of a 2,500 employee public company, SOTRAC where she initiated the first Family Planning Program in the private sector.

Then, she went on to pursue a career in development. In 1992, she became Director of Programme of ASBEF, the Senegalese branch of tÉhe International Parenthood Planned Federation-IPPF. In 1995, she started her career with the United Nations as Chief Technical Adviser in Burkina Faso and then took the position of Regional Adviser in the UNFPA Francophone Program on Advocacy and Behavior Change based in Cote d'Ivoire.

From 2001 to 2003, she managed a six-country program in West Africa on Gender and HIV/AIDS in the Regional Office of the United Nation Fund for Women-UNIFEM based in Dakar and then moved to UNFPA Headquarters in New York in 2003 as Gender and Behavior Change Senior Adviser and since 2005 she leads the Gender, Human Rights and Culture Branch in UNFPA.

Emergent Media Center at Champlain College

The Emergent Media Center (EMC) at Champlain College, works with industry, public institutions, and non-profits, to discover concepts, processes, and applications in games and emergent media. At the heart of this are two key objectives: enabling Champlain students to become thoughtful leaders in areas of technology, media, and learning; and helping to define the future of immersive mediums and technologies.

Champlain students have been hosting summits, building games and interactive media, and participating in international conferences to demonstrate future possibilities. Armed with a unique perspective, they are intent on pushing creative technologies to the next level by integrating art and code with cultural awareness, creativity, communication and a sense of history and place.

The EMC is located in the Champlain Mill in downtown Winooski, Vt.