SSGH: The Capstone Project

Esports in Ghana was almost nonexistent to me until 2017. The children who I knew who could afford a console owned one and that’s where most of my male friends would hang out. This usually left me all by myself because all my friends were guys. We also had these game centers when I was growing up and that’s where I was lucky to get some chances to play. In my youth there was nothing like esports, just video games which we loved like PES, FIFA, Rumble Racing, MK, and GTA which we called Attayi, named after a popular criminal in my country that year. My friends and I would sneak out during our play time to go into the game centers to play and although I did enjoy myself when I was behind the console, the rest of it wasn’t as pleasant. I was the only female in the midst of guys, in an era where women weren’t really respected. So, I had my share of harassment and being kicked off a console in the middle of playing, even though I had paid. This should’ve made me stop, but little me was resilient and I wouldn’t be held back. I kept going to play, sneaking out at odd hours, coming back home later than I should and making my mother angry. I didn’t understand it then, but I get it now. The streets were unsafe and for a child my age to be in the streets that late and also around boys for most of it; she was worried and that made sense. I started to reduce the number of times I went there until eventually I stopped altogether.

I thought I was done with that part of my life, until 2017 when I saw a link to a FIFA tournament on a friend’s story and decided to partake in it. Even though it had been almost 10 years since I held a controller, I was determined to play until I learned it was going to be guys only. Feeling intimidated, my sad big self decided not to try, plus I had flashbacks of the things that could go wrong and so I didn’t. It wasn’t until the organizer of the event called me and asked why I didn’t play that I learned about esports. We decided to create an all-female esports team, QUEENS.yag. In the years that followed I grew more involved in playing video games and getting more ladies to join the group. Organizing a space for us to train on campus and just doing everything I could to help. Trying to be more involved finally paid off because I got selected to be part of a mentorship program run by Queer Women of Esports where we were asked to create capstone projects on issues that we cared about.

A number of problems needed to be addressed. The majority of women in gaming did not having their own console. There were safety and security issues when women have to stay out late playing international athletes. Almost every tournament was male-dominated and there were only a few women-only tournaments. I realized queer people in Ghana weren't too keen on esports. This is because they either hadn't been educated or they didn't have the means to play. There aren’t any safehouses for queer people in my country, especially at a time where we are under attack and going through our own fights as other minorities and queer people have in the past. This is something I hope to change as I progress.

My goal with my project is to create a world where there is a safe space for queer women gamers to be themselves and play together. A place where queer gamers can pursue esports and gaming as a career without any problems. A place where parents understand the value of gaming and esports and support their children in every way they can. And a place where queer people can play, learn and train in games of their choice. That is where "SAFESPACEGH" was born.

Safespace Gaming Hub (SSGH) is the mobile gaming hub for queer persons in Ghana. A safe physical space that transcends the idea of being confined to one training space, an esports dream for queer esports athletes and enthusiasts in Ghana. Its aim is to create equal opportunities for female athletes especially and a safe space to practice their crafts, create content and play in tournaments while providing a fun and enjoyable experience. Our objectives include running an NBA 2K tournament (which has already been done) and building a community of queer gamers by 2024 by organizing: 3 female-only tournaments, 3 queer-only tournaments, 2 youth esports career education talks and talks for parents on the benefits of esports for their children We will also be finalizing the program budget and fundraising plan, renting a four-bedroom apartment fit for at least five gaming setups and a minimum of 8 residents. We will also raise funds for a minimum of 5 gaming consoles, 2 gaming PCs, a generator for lights out, security cameras and a team to help with the running of the house. And then finally, owning and managing an all-queer female esports team.

I realized a way to make my objective happen was to start by organizing a secret gaming event to introduce SafespaceGH and sign-up new members and potential athletes. I plan on having a discussion with a LGBT rights executive on possible collaborations for events and youth education programs. I have also created social media accounts for content creation to get revenue and to keep our fanbase engaged. We will raise funds for startup and equipment, search online and via agents on possible affordable spaces/houses available, design membership cards to play at a station, cheaper than other places but also a way to raise revenue. I will also create policies for members to stay in the house, choose tournament games and define tournament rules, create a yearly calendar full of events for the year including team trainings, tournament days, mentorship events, etc. and create social media pages and streaming channels to disseminate tournament information.

I have successfully organized two events during and after my mentorship program, the first being a collaboration with Here&Beyond to organize a Nirvana game room for their event dubbed, Nirvana: the 24hr Experience, which happened on the 31st of December through January 1st. I got sponsorship from Queer Women of Esports, Esports News Africa and mentor JT for cash prizes and renting of equipment. Fliers were distributed before the event to register people who wanted to partake in the event. The event went fairly well with participants and guests arriving after the given time, mostly due to the fact that it was a party. We had over 50 people registering to partake in the tournament only to have no one show up to play when it was time. I quickly had to teach a few people who didn’t know how to play and help those who had forgotten. I was then able to get 8 people to play in a mini-tournament and awarded those who won. The event was supposed to be streamed but circumstances and lack of equipment didn’t make that possible. Things that transpired during my first event made me realize I needed to include more than creating a safe space for gamers; I needed to actually sensitize the queer community on video games. I needed to do more and so I decided to have my next event 2 months after winning 3rd place in the Queer Women of Esports mentorship program.

BUFF: an empowering, open and inclusive night for women in gaming could not have happened without a team to help me with the planning and began putting everything to place. There was no sponsorship for this event. We asked our friends who owned a console to help us with one. The ones who could were straight and demanded they come for the event which wasn’t safe. So, we had to do with the ones we were able to get with no strings attached. I made a budget to include all the things we would have to prepare for but didn’t account for miscellaneous costs which really became a problem as I had to pay for other things we didn’t account for. Fliers were distributed via means as secret as possible and we got over 50 people RSVPing but as usual not everyone was able to show up and so with the few people we had, we began our event by welcoming our guests and doing an ice breaker session where we introduced ourselves and got to know each other. We then had a crash course on how to play the games available while taking a tour of the setups we had. The guests were then allowed to hop on any station and play, during the event we had the MC read out a list of “Never Have I Ever” questions which got people in groups who had to wait their turn talking and having conversations. There was also a variety of board and card games available outside for everyone else not playing. Around midnight, we had a setup in one of the rooms which we made a VIP room and a couple of my friends and I hopped on live and tried to do a YouTube stream. We were only successful on the IGLIVE and so we made do with what we had. In all, I felt the event was a success despite the minor issues we had.

SafespaceGH's next steps include raising more funds for our next events, growing our clan of gamers on discord especially and growing our social media pages to get a more engaged audience. We are open to receiving donations and sponsorships. If you would like to help, you can text us on all our social media pages @safespacegh or email: safespacegh.free@gmail.com.