Change of beneficiary for the ZEvent. Organized in Montpellier, the charity game marathon distributes the donations collected by streamers during each edition to an association. The choice to pay donations from the video game community this year went to the foundation GoodPlanet.
The decision drew very strong protests from the Twittersphere. Many people were moved by this choice, accusing Goodplanet of greenwashing by highlighting its partnerships and support among which are several multinationals, in the field of banking or energy in particular.
“The controversies that have been driving Twitter for a few days are serving the cause”
Faced with the controversy, Albane Godard, director general of the GoodPlanet foundation justified this support. “We are choosing to involve as many players as possible in the ecological and solidarity transition, so as not to remain convinced”. Before announcing its decision not to accept funds from ZEvent. “The controversies that have been driving Twitter for the past few days serve the cause for which each of us, employees, volunteers, partners in the field, work tirelessly […] [Leur] unwavering commitment and work of immense quality is unfoundedly questioned. It is for this reason, and because the ecological cause should not suffer from unnecessary controversy, at a time when it is time to act, that we have decided to withdraw from ZEvent 2022”.
In 2021, the charity event raised the colossal sum of 10,064,080 euros for the NGO Action Against Hunger. For the 2022 edition, which will take place from September 8 to 11, ZeratoR, one of the two co-organizers of the charity marathon, has decided to let social networks choose five recipients themselves from a list of pre-selected associations. Still on the theme of ecology, “a cause that concerns us all and whose importance no longer needs to be demonstrated”. And if “the facility would have been to take another cause, whose actors are less subject to debate”, ZeratoR explains that he does not intend to abandon it.
The list of preselected associations is available on social networks. The votes for the choice of the five associations benefiting from the funds of the ZEvent – “the last organized under this formula” as announced by its creator – will be closed on Wednesday July 13 at 2 p.m.