Village Gamer

The Entertainment Software Association of Canada has announced the appointment of Tanya Woods as its new Vice-President, Policy and Legal Affairs. Tanya joins ESAC from Bell Canada (BCE) where she acted as Legal Counsel on regulatory and copyright matters in Ottawa.  At Bell, Tanya’s primary role was to serve as BCE’s in-house copyright expert advising senior executives on a range of policy matters such as multi-platform licensing, anti-piracy, legislative reform, international trade agreements and corporate policy. Tanya has experience dealing with government and regulatory issues, having participated in a number of multi-sectoral coalitions and working groups and has appeared as a witness at parliamentary committees reviewing legislation such as copyright reform.  Read the rest of this entry »

Article Written by Penka Kouneva – When I first arrived in Hollywood in 1999, I had a PhD in Music composition, a keyboard and one connection. While that might not seem like much, it was more than I had when I moved to the United States from my home in Bulgaria nine years earlier. I was extremely passionate about scoring films and games – this is what I wanted to do for life. In retrospect, while my naiveté and idealism were laughable, they were also vital in getting me as far as I am today, because if you had told me upon my arrival 15 years ago that the first time a woman (Shirley Walker) was a Lead Orchestrator on a studio feature film was 1992, I’d have been shocked. If you told me that, in the history of Hollywood, only 8 female composers would score a studio feature, I might have turned around and gone right back into academia. Read the rest of this entry »

To drive innovation in the social space, HootSuite has announced the launch of HootSuite Labs, a team focused on developing the next generation of social technologies. With origins as a ‘startup within a startup’, Labs explores emerging digital technologies and engages with HootSuite’s early adopters and select customers to shape the future of social media and digital marketing. As part of Connect via HootSuite in San Francisco, HootSuite Labs hosted an Innovator’s Breakfast where enterprise clients were invited to help shape the product roadmap and provide feedback on the latest developments. Read the rest of this entry »

Startup Canada will recognize the movers and shakers of Canada’s entrepreneurship movement with a new awards program. The Startup Canada Awards will distinguish the individuals, communities, organizations and institutions in Canada that have demonstrated innovation, excellence, impact and outstanding achievement in advancing Canadian entrepreneurship. Read the rest of this entry »

Two-time Emmy^® Award recipient, Toon Boom Animation Inc. has announced its partnership with California-based Adrylan, makers of the acclaimed Educator’s Assessment Data Management System (EADMS) web-based application. EADMS is a Student Assessment and Reporting System used to create, manage, and report on local assessments in K-12 schools and higher education institutions. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2014 Funding Roadshow, a national event with 10 city stops across Canada, today invited entrepreneurs and funders to register online. Organized by Fundica, the 2014 Funding Roadshow gives start-ups and SMEs the opportunity to pitch their businesses – and potentially secure financing – to a panel of financial institutions, venture capitalists, angel investors, government organizations and private lenders. Funders benefit from exposure to emerging opportunities and the chance to invest before the rest of the market. The objective of the Funding Roadshow is to better educate entrepreneurs and facilitate connections with private investors and public funders. Read the rest of this entry »

Game Connection has unveiled the list of yet unsigned game projects nominated for the prestigious American Selected Projects 2014. Competition was fierce this year with more than 200 submitted projects. On the morning of 17th March at the Selected Projects Awards Ceremony, each of the 15 nominees will have 5 minutes to pitch their project in front of all publishers, distributors and buyers at Game Connection America. The jury will then award 2014’s “Overall Best Project” from amongst the hugely impressive and varied, international array of entries – based on presentation quality, project innovation and market potential. The accolade of “Overall Best Project” is sponsored by Namco Bandai Games, while Microsoft Studios supports the “Best Console & PC Hardcore” Category. In addition, this year Develop has been announced as the official media partner of the initiative, giving even more visibility to nominees and winners. The 15 nominated projects for 2014 are: Read the rest of this entry »

Intelligent broadband network solutions provider for fixed and mobile operators Sandvine has announced the launch of Usage Management release 5.0, which offers new capabilities to help both fixed and mobile communications service providers (CSPs) create, manage and implement new service plan offerings. Sandvine Usage Management is currently powering service innovation for more than 100 CSPs worldwide, and this latest release provides several next generation features that will benefit both operators and subscribers, including: Read the rest of this entry »

Bell Media has announced that applications are now being accepted for this year’s Bell Media National Fellowship Program. Selected recipients will receive full registration for the 2014 Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) and round-trip air transportation to attend the event, which runs June 8 – 11, 2014 in Banff, Alta. Applications will be accepted until Friday, March 21 at 5 p.m. ET. Read the rest of this entry »

Women in Communications and Technology (WCT) today announced the names of 13 recipients of its prestigious Annual Awards, which recognize individual and corporate leadership in advancing women’s achievement in Canada’s rapidly growing digital economy. Formerly Canadian Women in Communications (CWC), the revamped and much expanded WCT organization now represents 2,500 women in professions and industries from traditional media and corporate communications to information management and technology. Read the rest of this entry »