Over the last couple of months, tech giants in the US have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with immigrants who were affected by President Trump’s travel ban on six Muslim-dominant nations. Back then, Unity not only voiced its views against the unjust executive order but also said that it would support immigrants who wouldn’t be able to make it to GDC (Game Developer Conference) in San Francisco.
In an official statement, the company reiterates the same saying,
A few weeks back, we announced our support for developers worldwide in response to the United States’ travel and immigration restrictions. As part of that announcement, we stated our intentions to send 50 developers affected by the restrictions to Amsterdam in June to attend our Unite event.
And the company has decided to come through on its promise with the launch of a sponsorship program called Unity Without Borders. This initiative stands tall to support Muslim developers from countries affected by the immigration ban. Unity supports the developers who were unable to move freely and couldn’t attend important industry events. Thus, it is now looking to provide 50 lucky developers a chance to attend their Unite 2017 conference in Amsterdam, Europe from June 26-29.
Under this initiative, Unity is looking to handle everything from round-trip airline tickets and assistance in the Schengen visa process to their four nights of hotel accommodation (including per diem for meal and expenses) and entry pass to the event — which has to be the most important item on this list.
Talking about this initiative in the blog post, Matthew Pruitt, Global Head of Community/Social at Unity said,
Unity believes in democratizing game development, solving hard problems, and enabling success no matter where you’re from. It is those three core beliefs that drives us and it is our hope that Unity Without Borders helps us expose as many developers, artists, programmers and dreamers as possible to our amazing community.
Well, this might be a small humanitarian gesture on Unity’s part but its shows the company’s commitment and loyalty to its developers from across the globe. Further, there’s an FAQ section on the official Unity Without Borders’ website, where the following reason has been cited for taking up this initiative:
We are a global company, supporting a global community. We believe the best innovation comes when there is a free exchange of ideas among developers, and where all feel welcome and free. Recent travel restrictions have threatened this free exchange and the very future of our industry.
Our efforts to bring affected developers to Unite Europe, which offers opportunities for learning, collaboration and career growth, is one small way we can ensure every voice is heard and valued.
