Ubisoft 2016 Annual Report Download - page 100

Corporate social responsibility
4Societal indicators
In Singapore, a tripartite collaboration between the DigiPen
Institute of Technology Singapore, the Singapore Workforce
Development Agency (WDA) and the Ubisoft studio in Singapore
was launched. This collaboration, which began in October 2009,
consists of a 10-month training program with three different
areas of specialization (Programming, Game Design and Art).
In Chengdu, a groundbreaking collaboration between the
Sichuan Conservatory of Music (SCM) and the studio was
launched two years ago. The Ubi-Classroom is an educational
program for SCM students, designed to open up the world of
artistic production by sharing experiences with the studio’s
artists. With around 180 participants, the program was a
remarkable success. Plans are under way to organize a second
edition.
In the United States, Red Storm also used its university network
to give courses on video game development. Students from
North Carolina University were taught about the challenges
involved in game production,
•by participating in research work:
The Quebec studio has partnered with the University of Laval
to develop the project FUN ii (Intelligent Interaction). The
aim is to develop video games that adapt in real time to the
emotions and physiological reactions of players, offering them
an unparalleled entertainment experience.
More specifically, Ubisoft Montreal made a five-year
commitment, until the end of 2015, to contribute to funding
a research program on artifi cial intelligence at the University
of Montreal. The Canadian subsidiary makes an annual
contribution of CAD 200,000 (1).
The Toronto studio is working with Sheridan and its SIRT
program (2) on a research project to develop movement sensors
and virtual reality cameras.
❙ 4.4.4 SPONSORSHIP ACTIONS
An initiative known as “Sharing More Than Games” was launched
12 years ago. This program provides management and other support
for individual solidarity initiatives, both local efforts and those that
are broader-based, within the Ubisoft Group. The scope of this
program fi ts in with Ubisoft’s core business and values: promoting
access to education, culture and leisure for people from
disadvantaged backgrounds. In this context, the “Ubisoft
Charity Jam” held in 2015 saw 18 Ubisoft subsidiaries take part
in four days of streaming involving children and young adults.
Subsidiaries have also organized local collections to raise money
for the 17 charities selected by Ubisoft employees.
Most sponsorship actions implemented by the subsidiaries
are decentralized. These actions share the goal of promoting
inclusion and education through enjoyment.
A wide range of local initiatives have been launched: some focus
on health and disability, while others are geared towards diversity
and integration.
♦
Some Ubisoft brands are committed to philanthropic causes
with actions related to game content:
• in Canada, after working for several years on Far Cry 4, a
game largely inspired by Nepal and its people, staff at Ubisoft
Montreal found themselves deeply affected by the earthquake in
April 2015. They raised more than CAD 75,000 for the Canadian
Red Cross, which provided support and medical assistance
on site;
• in the United States, the Just Dance team in San Francisco has
been involved in several initiatives revolving around physical
wellbeing and culture.
-
In January 2016, an in-house dance competition was held to
raise money for the Special Olympics,
-since November, Just Dance 2016 and VH1 Save The Music
have held an inter-school competition to promote music
education in schools,
-
in December 2015, the studio invited the American singer
Jason Derulo to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, getting the
children to dance with Just Dance,
-
the game is also a “SHAPE America” partner, a major
national program committed to empowering all children to
lead healthy and active lives through health and physical
education programs;
• in the UK, Future Games of London offers free advertisements
in its mobile game Hungry Shark® to Oceana, an organization
focused on protecting the world’s oceans. It obtained 109,000
signatures for the protection of sea turtles, far exceeding its
goal of 70,000 signatures.
♦
Local schemes aim to promote diversity and the integration
of children, young students or people from vulnerable
communities:
• several sites, in partnership with local charities, have organized
studio visits for children from disadvantaged backgrounds
to show them how a video game is developed. The Quebec
studio gave this opportunity to children from the “Carrefour des
Enfants de Saint Malo” charity, and the Spanish subsidiaries
to children from the association “Aldeas Infantiles”,
• other sites donate computer hardware or Ubisoft action fi gures,
such as the Red Storm studio in the United States, in partnership
with the “Toys for Tots” charity, which collects toys still in their
original packaging to distribute to children in need. Likewise,
in France, any unused action fi gures are sent to the “Dons
solidaires” social enterprise, which works with other French
non-profi ts to distribute games kits for children in hospital or
with disabilities. Computers and game consoles have also been
donated to the “Citoyens agités” charity, which is committed
(1) Equivalent to €136,000 at the end of March2016
(2) Screen Industries Research and Training Center is a production studio and a research laboratory for exploring digital image capture and creation
processes for movies, television and video games
- Registration Document 2016
98