Topics

Explore the social and societal aspects of gaming

Explore the evolving world of social gaming and how gender issues are changing how games are developed. Learn about the gamification of society and how organizations are turning to social games for marketing and fund raising. Discover how the five dimensions of game addiction might relate to your experiences. Hear about the history and development of video games from one of the "rock stars" of the industry.

Locale

Locale: With a population of more than 218,000, Reno is the largest city in northern Nevada, nestled on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in an area called the Truckee Meadows. 

Speakers

If you could put all the gaming-industry leaders you wanted to talk to in one room, who would you pick?
 

  • An expert on social gamers like Dr. Mia Consalvo?
  • A recognized authority on the effects of video games like Dr. Doug Gentile?
  • A pioneer in gaming for social good like Jamison Selby?
  • A game developer solving real-world problems like Dr. Seth Cooper?
  • A veteran in electronic game design and development like Warren Spector?

Whichever your choice, our Colloquium is the right pick for July 2012.

The Foundation

As the philanthropic arm of Mensa, the Mensa Foundation is dedicated to nurturing and protecting human intelligence and offers many programs that open doors for students, educators, researchers and Mensa members.

Latest News

  • 15
    SEP 2011
    Spector confirmed for keynote address.

    The Mensa Foundation is proud to announce the keynote speaker for Colloquium 2012.2: Warren Spector, Vice President and Creative Director for Disney Interactive Studios' Junction Point.

  • 01
    AUG 2011
    One-day Colloquium draws strong Mensan interest.

    The Mensa Foundation is seeing strong attendance indicators for the one-day Colloquium on social and video gaming. The event is shaping up to be a strong lead-in to American Mensa's Annual Gathering in July 2012 in Reno.

The keynote panel at Colloquium 2011, which included Warren Spector (left).As a Mensa Foundation-sponsored event, Colloquium annually provides Mensans and the public alike the opportunity to gather with industry experts and researchers to dig deeper into socially relevant topics. Past and current topics include the impact of the arts, gifted children, biosafety, consciousness, humor and climate change.

Instead of focusing on the specifics of individual games or the latest releases at the July 2012 event, Colloquium 2012.2 will consider the bigger issues: what our societal obsession with electronic gaming says about us, how we got to this point and what the future could bring. We're confident the program will include topics — and renowned speakers — you've never seen collected into one forum in any other venue. You are cordially invited to be there when we delve into this multi-billion-dollar industry and find out why we play the games we play.

Hear from past attendees...

I am a gamer passionate about the industry, and these guys and gals are rock stars!