Immersive Media and RITEC at Game for Change 2026
Immersive, Engaging, and Good for Kids: Designing XR for Youth at Games for Change 2026
As XR technologies become more accessible, developers are increasingly creating immersive experiences for children and tweens—often without shared design standards or direct input from young users themselves. This panel explores new research from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center on how to design XR experiences for youth that are engaging and developmentally grounded.
Speakers will discuss practical strategies for balancing immersion with safety, supporting autonomy and social connection, and designing experiences that resonate with both young people and their caregivers. The session will surface real-world design tensions and offer actionable guidance for building XR experiences that support children’s well-being while remaining creative, compelling, and fun.
July 21, 2026
4:00-4:45pm
The Glasshouse
660 12th Avenue, New York, NY 10019
Moderator: David Kleeman, Dubit
Elizabeth Rood, Joan Ganz Cooney Center
Jesse Schell, Schell Games
Asante Asiedu, Udeesa
Workshop | Designing Gaming for Children’s Well-Being with the RITEC Design Toolbox
How can game design support children’s well-being? In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore practical ways to integrate well-being into the design of digital play experiences using the UNICEF-developed RITEC (Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children) Design Toolbox. Working in small teams, participants will apply the RITEC-8 framework – eight evidence-based dimensions of children’s well-being in digital play – to a real-world design challenge. Through rapid collaboration and prototyping, teams will create or enhance game concepts that support outcomes such as creativity, autonomy, emotional well-being, inclusion, and positive relationships. Whether you work in game design, UX, product, research, or player safety, this interactive session will provide practical tools, fresh perspectives, and actionable approaches for designing digital experiences that help children thrive.
July 22, 2026
11:00am-12:00pm
The Glasshouse
660 12th Avenue, New York, NY 10019
Workshop Leader: Kathryn M. Werntz, RITEC Project Coordinator, UNICEF Office of Innovation
Sarah Jacobstein, Joan Ganz Cooney Center
Allisyn Levy, Joan Ganz Cooney Center
Additional participants from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, UNICEF, and Games for Change
Learn more about Games for Change and register here
