Game playing @ diplomacy and peace-building

Can we use state-of-the-art simulation and “serious gaming” tools to transform the way that peace-building organisations train, plan and collaborate?

An event staged last year by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) explored just this. It examined how the latest online and scenario-driven simulations and 3D virtual environments can be applied to sharpen decision-making skills and lay the foundation for more effective peace operations, negotiation, and co-operation. The event also had more than 300 online participants from 24 countries as varied as Kenya, Spain, Mauritania, Israel, and Brazil using various online social media.

The event was addressed by U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Beth Noveck (the author of Wiki Government) who noted that the Obama administration sees “serious” games as an important, largely untapped way to enable innovation in government and civic engagement.

The event was part of the USIP’s ongoing “Smart Tools for Smart Power” initiative to identify cutting-edge technologies that may enable peace-building organisations to better prevent and resolve violent conflict through data-driven decision-making, information sharing, analytics, and online collaboration.