Statement on Closing NMD, April 2023

When we started NMD in 2019, we were confident that after a couple of years we could pass the organisation on to someone who was willing to carry the torch. We were keen to build a community focused on equality and gaming, and had an excellent start in building that base. However, the pandemic has brought radical changes to our lives - the lives of our members, our volunteers and the trustees themselves. The wonderful passion and momentum you helped create was stalled by Covid and we haven't been able to make up for the lost time. We have struggled to recruit trustees, let alone replacements for Sarah and Naomi. And while we still believe in the principles that motivated us to set up NMD, the trustees themselves have had their lives radically altered by the COVID pandemic.

We are incredibly proud of the work that you have done with NMD. We are so grateful to have met passionate gamers in London who care about making the gaming space better for everyone. We have, in many ways, created a community and created a space in which these conversations could happen. The games community is far from equal, and there is still work to be done. However, we regret that our current and past trustees are not able to carry on that work ourselves.

Our website will remain online for the foreseeable future. In some ways, the feedback we’ve received has highlighted that the website and its resources, particularly codes of conduct and safety tools, are as important as the workshops we’ve run in person. All financial assests will be donated to Glitch and the Feminist Library.

We are incredibly grateful for your support and for all of your work in helping make NMD possible. We have learned so much from you and you leave us with faith that the future of gaming will continue to move towards equality.

Best wishes,
Naomi Clarke, co-founder and Chair

Sarah Pipkin, co-founder and Secretary

Katie Sandford, Treasurer

Mira Manga, Treasurer