My name is Rami Ismail, and I am the Government Relations board member of the Dutch Games Association. I’d like to give you occasional updates on the work we’re doing, behind the scenes, to ensure the government and the industry work together to ensure we all have the best opportunities to make games in the Netherlands.
This month had a lot of developments that I will take a bit more time to fruition, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot going on in the here and now. As I’ve been rather busy – and I’m sure that between the Silksongs, vacations, and the ruminations of daily life – so have you, I’ll try and keep it rather short.
- Gamescom was a huge success, which is one of the most prominent platforms our industry has for both showcasing our cultural and economical impact at a national, European, and international level. The Dutch Games Pavilion is a critical part of proving our reach in lobbying efforts, and seeing it perform as well as it did makes my work for the next year a lot easier.
- As it stands, it seems like the renewed SBI code list seems to be launching without a game-specific code. This is a disappointment, as there was alignment and excitement on a code. It’s a little unclear how it ended up falling between the cracks. As I look into this, I have started some follow-ups to see if there’s some sort of hotfix we can apply in case it did really fall in between the cracks. The first signs are positive, so I’ll continue to chase that. As you know, the SBI code push is part of a focus point that looks to quantify the size and impact of our industry – another piece of the puzzle that we’ve managed to already cover to some degree with the efforts of maintaining the Dutch Games Monitor.
- We continued steps towards creating more streamlined connecting points with existing government structures. That might sound vague, but it’s more a mix of hundreds of tiny, generic things than it is me trying to be vague for the purpose of being vague. I could talk about specifics for hours, but the short version is that the government has certain processes that work well for them, and we fall right in between all those processes. Together with the folks at the Ministry of OCW (Education, Culture, and Science) and the folks at the RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency) we’ve taken strides to ensure we’re making those connection points. In the future, there will be calls for folks to participate in some of these structures and initiatives – I’ll keep you all up to date.
- The Ministry of OCW held a digital culture showcase at the Hoftoren in the Hague, which the Dutch Games Association was pleased to support and attend. A multi-departmental event, the whole afternoon brought together representatives from all corners of the government – the holistic and multi-faceted approach we’ve been working towards and hoping for. It was a delight to attend, and to get to see the medium discussed with full acknowledgement of its impact (both the positive, and the negative) at this level of the Dutch government.
While that means that this month was mostly preparatory, it did have a number of payoffs that I’m very happy with. As the holiday seasons ends for the government, and everyone’s eyes start turning towards the next elections, we continue to try to ensure games and culture at large have a significant presence in the next government. There’s forever more to do, but at large I think the last period has been rather successful.
As always, our ability to successfully lobby and create opportunities for the industry is a slow, diligent, and mostly consistent effort. We can only make the resources to do this work because of your contribution and membership. Every success, from exciting game releases to playtest events, from Network Lunch to Games Monitor – every effort helps build a stronger case for games – and the Dutch Games Association relies fully on the support of its members and sponsors to make it happen. If you want to explore how to support our association, check out our website. If you’re already a member, thank you so, so much.
Best,
Rami