YSEALI Regional Workshop on Designing Games That Drive Social Change | SMY300 FY2022 YSEALIGAMES

Opportunity Information: Apply for SMY300 FY2022 YSEALIGAMES

The U.S. Department of State, through the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur, announced a competitive funding opportunity to create and run a Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) regional workshop focused on designing games that support social change. The project is planned to take place in Malaysia, specifically in Penang or Kuala Lumpur, and would be supported through a cooperative agreement, meaning the awardee would implement the program while coordinating closely with the U.S. Mission. The opportunity was released under Funding Opportunity Number SMY300 FY2022 YSEALIGAMES (CFDA 19.040) within the community development and education space. The award ceiling is $200,000, with one award expected. The announcement was posted May 26, 2022, with an original application deadline of June 27, 2022 (subject to the availability of funds, as noted in the notice).

At its core, the grant aims to build the capacity of young game makers in Southeast Asia to create interactive experiences that do more than entertain. The workshop is intended to introduce both existing and aspiring game developers to the idea of "games for social change," and to strengthen the practical skills needed to execute that idea. That includes technical design abilities as well as narrative and storytelling skills, since the program emphasizes creating compelling interactive experiences that can communicate meaningful messages. A key expectation is that participants do not just learn game development techniques in isolation; they also gain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of important social challenges affecting their communities so that any game concepts developed are grounded in real regional contexts.

The proposed format is a four-day, in-person regional program for roughly 60 to 70 participants drawn from skilled gaming industry professionals and game design students. The structure is designed to be hands-on and output-oriented: the first two days are a workshop led by American and local experts focused on designing games with social messages, and the next two days are a game jam where participants break into teams and rapidly prototype and conceptualize game ideas aimed at issues affecting the ASEAN region. The opportunity explicitly encourages a wide range of social themes that games could tackle, including climate change, trafficking in persons, disinformation, civic engagement, and diversity and inclusion, while leaving space for other relevant regional priorities.

Beyond training and brainstorming, the program is expected to end with a pitching competition, reinforcing the idea that participants should be able to present and defend a coherent game concept, its intended impact, and its design approach. Importantly, applicants are instructed to include budget support that allows selected game concepts to be developed to completion, signaling that the program is not meant to stop at prototypes or presentations but to help push a subset of the strongest projects toward a finished, playable product. This completion funding element is a defining feature because it turns the workshop into a pipeline that can produce real deliverables rather than only learning outcomes.

The rationale behind the program is tied to the growth and reach of gaming in Southeast Asia. The notice points to a rapidly expanding regional gaming industry largely powered by young people, and it highlights estimates of around 126 million gamers in the region. The Embassy frames games as a particularly effective medium for public outreach because they combine interactivity and player agency, allowing audiences to engage with social issues through choices, consequences, and immersive storytelling. In the same spirit as past capacity-building efforts aimed at filmmakers, journalists, musicians, and documentarians, this workshop is positioned as a way to empower game designers, storytellers, and digital artists to apply their craft toward civic and community impact.

Applicants are also expected to design the agenda so it includes sessions not only with game design and narrative experts, but also with local issue-area specialists who understand the on-the-ground challenges communities face across Southeast Asia. These local experts should be integrated to help participants think carefully about responsible representation, relevant messaging, and how gamification might help advocates communicate complex topics and lived experiences more effectively. In practical terms, that means the program should connect creative teams with credible perspectives on the selected issues so that the resulting game concepts are informed, sensitive, and more likely to resonate with intended audiences.

Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (as defined in the notice), and other eligible entities as described in the opportunity’s additional eligibility information. Overall, the grant is best understood as a regional talent-development and project-incubation effort: it convenes emerging and early-career game creators, provides expert instruction and issue grounding, drives rapid team-based creation through a game jam, and then supports a shortlist of projects with funding and visibility so that the most promising games can be completed and used to raise awareness or encourage engagement on pressing ASEAN social challenges.

• The Department of State, U.S. Mission to Malaysia in the community development, education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "YSEALI Regional Workshop on Designing Games That Drive Social Change" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 26, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 27, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for SMY300 FY2022 YSEALIGAMES

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