Last year Oculus, in collaboration with the Diversity in Gaming coalition ran a programme called Amplifying New Voices. The aim was to provide professional speaker training to up and coming developers who could provide a voice to under-represented groups and become a role model at events. The programme has returned for a second year, with Oculus now issuing a last call for applications.

Amplifying New Voices provides a full-day workshop of hands-on training and coaching for applicants who demonstrate potential as new speakers for the augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) industry. Located in San Francisco, California, participants will be introduced to a like minded community, work closely with mentors, and learn more about PR whilst improving their public speaking and presentation skills.

To be eligible participants need to:

Create games that focus on some aspects of diversity or identify as belonging to an underrepresented group in the Games, AR and/or VR industry.

Show potential as a game developer (artist, game designer, engineer, producer, sound designer or writer) and willing to grow as a public role model.

Are mid-career: 3-8 years in the industry, preferably with at least 1 shipped title (casual, indie, AAA, or VR).

The programme is being run in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2017, with Amplifying New Voices providing each attendee with a complimentary GDC pass and travel stipend towards flight and hotel accommodation.

Interested parties can apply at AmplifyingNewVoices2017.com or you can also nominate somebody. The deadline for applications is 17th January 2017, with the boot camp taking place from 9am to 6pm on 26th February.

GDC 2017 runs from Monday, 27th February to Friday, 3rd March, 2017 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. For the latest news on the event, keep reading VRFocus.