ChewataCon: The Ethiopian Gaming Convention
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Loading... - Gitonga Wesonga
- 21 Jan 2022
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In a country where life becomes about racing at 300km/hr to cover for basic needs, how does one stop-and-stare to think about the future? What is even the future? How does one find the resources, inspiration, will and courage to pause and create platforms that give others to pause too?
The future could be a very volatile and dangerous word in a place where “the future” is birthed in the rat race of insecurities and risk averse mentality. Also known as: the influence of poverty.
Currently in Addis, it is not difficult to notice young graduates having the need to work at multiple jobs/freelance to cover elementary needs. But it’s also not uncommon to see most add in their own passion start ups besides their jobs in hopes of a brighter future.
If there’s as much interest and curiosity in young people to want to navigate the world a little better, then nurturing these minds, hearts and souls is an utmost necessity. And it just might be possible by putting them in the forefront and helping them rethinking processes to improve our even create more options of alternative futures. If worked towards this, one of the smallest products you’d get becomes a platform; something similar to the festival concept of ChewataCon held in Ethiopia.
ChewataCon is a first of its kind gaming convention based in Addis Abeba; planned to be held annually. This convention is an example of the kind of future discussed here. I don’t mean it in a way that sells the brand/convention. I mean it in terms of how it prepares different interested stakeholders with the future in mind.
It had landed a second year festival this last October. We just finalized this year’s convention exactly 6 weeks ago today with a big festival to tie down every game-based activity that happened through out the month of October. I’m only about to write about this experience today since the whole organizing role was another experience of it’s own that obviously takes much more time and I promised myself that I’d only write when things with the organization are completed. If all goes well, tomorrow (6 weeks later) is when the organization part is almost completed. This is where all budgets and client/partners’ matters are settled.
Here’s how it became though… In 2020, it was birthed from a simple make-believe pitch for the late Goethe-Institute director to host the first and greatest annual gaming festival using the slim budget of a games exhibition that was touring Africa. The fest’s purpose was so it could grow and collect bright minds in the games industry. Unexpectedly and fortunately, we got a yes. But unfortunately too, Covid entered Addis exactly 4 days before the official opening of the first ever convention and we had to rethink very quickly how the itinerary could be handled virtually. Fast forward to today on its second year, it successfully hosted a collective of game tournaments, game jams, talks, experimental labs, workshops, game nights and much more. This is a “we beat Covid” success story in a way.
