Tenerife GG, a Spanish event about gaming, technology, and science
By Andreu Ibanez, WTM Ambassador, GDG Lleida lead and GDG Spain co-organizer
Irene Ruiz Pozo, WTM Ambassador, GDG Murcia and Cartagena lead
Paula Vidal Pascual, GDG Lleida Co-organizer
Maria Sanchez Riquelme, GDG Murcia Co-organizer
Andreu comments on the event
Among the many big tech events that were organized before the pandemic in Spain, there was the Tenerife Lan Party. Held in Tenerife, in the lovely and always warm Canary Islands, the event tackled tech, gaming, and many other pop culture topics. The GDG Spain has been involved in organizing the event for years, first through the GDG Tenerife local chapter with Paco, Alexandra, and more organizers, later with my own assistance and speakers from our community.
The best year attendance-wise was 2018, when the GDG Spain summit was held next to Tenerife Lan Party, and almost 120 leads came to the island to share their knowledge in Google technologies such as Cloud, Flutter, Android, Tensorflow, GEO, and many more. This photo, with the amazing Adan Martin Auditorium in the back where the dev conferences are usually held, is the greatest expression of the GDG Spin community:
This was a special year; normally we only invite a few speakers, around a dozen, and always try to have plenty of Women Techmakers and leads.
After the pandemic, the event changed its name and Tenerife.GG was born. The GG stands for the typical salute gamers exchange after a nice round: Good Game.
Now a different event, with fewer resources and still with the pandemic going on slowly but surely, we didn’t have enough support to bring more speakers, but as they were eager to come, we agreed on a half stipend, the travel being on speaker and the hotel on organization respective budgets.
At the last moment, we also got help from the Women Techmakers Europe, who brought 3 young WTM leads that have been so active in the past year. They delivered a presentation and developed other activities showcasing the WTM community and its goals.
I personally also had the opportunity to deliver a presentation on a Google Summer of Code sponsored project we’re developing this summer: the La Palma Volcano Eruption tracking tool.
It was the right time to present the project. Last autumn in La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, a 4-month-long volcanic eruption occurred and destroyed many houses and land, a sad situation that has to be remembered to keep helping the victims.
In the video that was screened during my presentation, student Yash Raj from India, developer of the app next to their mentors Ivan Josa and me, you can take a look at the ongoing development, as it will be finished and hopefully published on the Play Store in September:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=998mcVryYwU&feature=emb_title
Different Google Geo tools, Flutter, and other Google technologies are being used in this project.
For me, being part of the organizing team was an amazing experience, although a bit tiring at the same time. We organized a 6-day event for around 35,000 people and 149 speakers and moved between many venues and activities held simultaneously. It’s a lot of work to do. Here are some photos of the venues and our activities:
You can watch them on https://www.youtube.com/c/TenerifeGG/videos
Irene’s comments on the event
In this event, I talked about video games as a teaching tool, explaining the different engines to produce that exist, the difficulty in terms of programming, and also how to leverage video games in the classroom.
In addition, I showed a successful case of a video game created by a high school student named David Ruiz, in which, using Unreal Engine, he created a video game that mixes physics with the heritage of his city, making students learn, and showing both the students of the institute and the teachers that video games are one more method of learning, and this is backed up by his statistics.
So lastly, I asked a question: are video games another way of learning for students, or do they also serve to introduce teachers to the world of video games and technology?
And knowing the success of learning through the use of video games, why aren’t they already used in classrooms?
About my experience at the Women Techmakers round table, as an Ambassador, I’ve been trying to make both boys and girls interested in technology for years and show them that this sector is not only for men. I also tried to show the importance of a safe work environment, in which we not only help make our environment more inclusive and diverse but also help companies and institutions as a point of link between them, making it easier for students to access them.
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As for my opinion on the event… IT WAS INCREDIBLE.
It is an event that brings together people from the world of video games, technology, and science, making attendees see that everything is united.
But the best of all was seeing people from the communities again, seeing those from GDG Burgos, those from GDG Lleida, and meeting new people who I know will be part of what we do in the future have been the most wonderful thing.
I think that being a part of Tenerife.GG gave us more strength and ideas for our next events. So we’ll see you soon…
Paula comments on the event
As a way of bonding science and technology, I talked about how the first image of a black hole was taken, and the crucial role that Google Cloud played in this process.
I walked the audience through the physics of a black hole and why it is a technological challenge to “take a picture” of one. Then I went on to talk about how in 2019 and again this year the Event Horizon Telescope, thanks to Google Cloud’s virtual machines, overcame this challenge by publishing the image we all know today.
To conclude, we consider that even though the results are in line with those predicted by the Theory of General Relativity, we must always be open to new possible answers to the question: “What are we seeing in these images, is it really a black hole?”
In this event, I also had the chance to participate in the Women Techmakers round table. It was a great opportunity to discuss with my fellow women at the table the impact communities like ours have on our society. We also touched on subjects like the importance of providing the younger generations with an education based on equality and what we, as a community, can contribute to companies and people. What I loved the most was how we all shared our experiences and opinions, since we come from different sectors.
The event was SPECTACULAR, in capital letters. Not only was it a great opportunity for me on a professional level, but I also had the time of my life. I met fascinating people with whom I had a great time, and I got to fully explore the world of video games and everything that surrounds it.
Maria comments on the event
Nowadays, everything is interconnected and that is why marketing and video games are becoming more and more united. At Tenerife.GG I talked about how both sectors are connected, and how a brand can promote its product in a more fun, entertaining, and at the same time complex way. I suggested using advertising tools such as product placement, and advergaming, among others.
The gaming world is revolutionizing our lives, and games are here to stay, but will they stay permanently? There is no answer to that question. But if we can say that technology in general advances broadly, we must be vigilant at all times, especially in the sector of marketing and advertising.
One of the greatest experiences was being able to attend a round table formed by Women Techmakers together with other communities with the same objective, discussing the role of women in the technological world, together with my colleagues Irene Ruiz and Paula Vidal.
Next to Irene, a friend, and one of the most important software geniuses in the world, Alistair Cockburn, co-author of the Agile manifesto and many other modern software inventions.
Millions of activities, recreational games, and competitions that we could see live in the main area of the Tenerife.GG fairgrounds.
It was an incredible experience to remember and if possible to relive. During events like those, you can meet new friends and expand your professional network. Leaving this aside, from my experience, I learned that it is not necessary to belong to the world of technology to be able to attend an event like this. Having the ability to get to know other sectors and be able to unify them is something that should be normalized, and these types of events make this possible.
