Kippie secures funding for project with youths with learning disabilities

Kippie, which was founded in September 2017 by sisters Katherine Rowlandson and Caroline Anderson and their friend Justine Scoltock, received the funding from a UK based foundation for social entrepreneurs, UnLtd.

The company specialises in computer games, apps, animations and creative digital technologies.

The funding and tailored business support will significantly help Kippie, an award winning company, to widen the positive social impact for young adults with learning disabilities within the community.

Kippie provide a tailor made programme of workshops teaching a range of transferable skills through the process of making a computer game, from concept through to market.

The company believes games are for everyone and the best way to reflect that is to have games made by everyone.

They specialise in computer games, apps, animations and creative digital technologies.

They found that portrayals of disability, in particular learning disability, are almost entirely absent in video games, and those few that do exist are nearly always heavily stereotyped.

Kippie wants to work with young people with learning disabilities to change that.

They also want to be able to offer training and potentially paid employment to some of the talented and exceptional students with a learning disability they work with.

They aim to break down the barriers faced by disabled people in the workplace and give talented students the opportunity to kick-start their careers.

Kippie wants to find out if games designed and made by young people with a learning disability can help to educate and increase understanding and empathy among the wider community.

They will be working alongside The Liberty Consortium and their students at The Hub on the project.

Katherine Rowlandson, from Kippie, said: “This award is going to make a massive difference to our students and the work we can do with them. This really has the potential to change people’s lives.”

Nas Morley, UnLtd’s Director of Partnerships and Influence, said: “While I can’t predict the future, I can confidently say it will be a brighter one with the contribution these award winners will make to the lives of many and the society we live in.”