Young Creators Play for the Future

As we mark our 10th anniversary in December 2025, we continue to highlight the people and projects that shape the Foundation’s ecosystem and the ambition that drives them. 

Today, we meet Marcela Zanon, Head of Community Engagement and Events at TALES, an initiative that explores how multimedia can be used to connect cultures, empower young creatives, and tell stories that matter.

Marcela’s approach lies at the intersection of storytelling, education, and cultural dialogue. Since joining TALES, she has helped shape the creation of its upcoming World of Us game — a digital experience designed to introduce players to local mythologies and environmental knowledge from different parts of the world. Her work spans from organizing game jams and creative labs to coordinating playtesting sessions with students in Brazil, Portugal, Romania, and Germany.

One of the key milestones so far has been the Participatory Art Direction programs: immersive experiences where local artists and cultural experts help guide the game’s visual and narrative identity. This unique methodology ensures that the stories and symbols represented in the game are not imagined from afar but shaped with communities on the ground.

“Games invite people to participate,” Marcela says. “They allow players to step into a new world and connect with cultures in a way that’s immediate and meaningful.”

This philosophy is reflected not only in the development of World of Us, but in the way TALES engages new talent. In Rio de Janeiro, for example, Marcela helped organize a game jam in partnership with Game Jam Plus and GatoMídia, a social project offering tech education to young black and indigenous creators. Participants developed game concepts based on local myths — and some took it further. A few teams decided to start their own studios after their work was selected to be included in World of Us.

“When people are offered access, mentorship, and a platform to create, they take bold steps,” Marcela says. “One short experience can shift someone’s entire path.”

Another ripple effect came through Aoca Game Lab, a game studio based in Salvador, Brazil. After joining a participatory program in the Amazon region of Acre and mentoring at the game jam, Aoca’s team continues to meet creators at conferences across Brazil who say these experiences changed how they think about creativity, culture, and purpose.

“Every perspective matters,” Marcela reflects. “Whether it’s a local artist helping define the aesthetic of a forest spirit, or a young participant creating their first character — it adds depth, and it adds truth.”

At the core of TALES' work is a simple yet powerful belief: when you bring people together through storytelling, culture, and ecological education, you build understanding, not just a game.

For our anniversary, we are sharing stories from across our ecosystem – snapshots of the people and ideas that drive them. New stories will appear on our anniversary page between July and December 2025. We invite you to follow along – and perhaps, find inspiration of your own.