Inspire Empathy
Developer Ecosystems
To continue leading the way in AR, we must build a pipeline of underrepresented AR developers. But it doesn’t just stop there – we also need to ensure that they have access to opportunities as a whole new AR economy grows.
We are focused on building a more diverse AR ecosystem of developers that work with Lens Studio. The goal is to improve our own representation and develop Lenses that reflect our entire global community. To help us achieve this goal, in 2021, we expanded our Snap Academy program to include the Snap Lens Academy in partnership with LACMA.
The Snap Academies are ambitious programs designed to help provide meaningful career opportunities to Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic/Latinx communities, and other groups who have been historically disconnected from equal opportunity in the tech sector such as women, community college students, and youth who may have experienced homelessness, foster care, or the juvenile justice system. Snap Lens Academy is an eight-week educational program with a custom curriculum that teaches the fundamentals of creating augmented reality experiences through Snap’s Lens Studio software. In addition, Snap Originals team members work with Snap Academy scholars to help teach young creative talent from under-represented backgrounds how to tell stories for mobile platforms.
Download the Diversity Annual Report