So nice to see Coca Cola’s peace innovation intervention to bring Pakistan and India together. It has all the ingredients we like – BJ Fogg’s Behavior Model where behavior = motivation + ability + trigger, fun, baby steps approach to behavior design,  Minimum Acceptable Peace Interactions (MAPIs), it’s technology mediated, interactive, and it elicits pro-social behaviors across conflict boundaries.  We’ve been supporting Romancing the Border, a project initiated by Rehman Ilyas to increase social interactions across the India/Pakistan border.  We’re happy to see Coca Cola get in the game.

More information on the Berlin Peace Innovation Lab MeetUp here.

What will you learn in Peace Innovation Workshop Ghent

Goals of Peace Innovation Lab:

• Quantitative, computational, predictive theory of peace generation
• Design frameworks for practitioners
  • Sub-goal: Research methodologies and frameworks

Can we quantify peace?

• Engagement model
• Engagement framework
  • - Peace types
  • MAPI’s = Minimum Acceptable Peaceful Interaction

Quick Examples

• Peace.facebook.com
• Israel Loves Iran
• Peace Objects that elicit MAPIs (beginning formation of peace game-playing (research- strategy)

Questions

• Opportunities to Partner
• Planning for Upcoming events to launch Ghent PILab more fully

When and Where

Idrops Offices
Octrooienplein 21
9000 Gent
Belgium

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM (PDT)

RSVP: http://peaceinnovationlab.eventbrite.com

About the Organizers

Stanford Peace Innovation Lab develops interventions to measurably increase positive, prosocial engagement across group boundaries.

iDROPS is a digital innovation agency for the cultural, creative and social sector. We believe in the power that digital applications have to create a social and economic impact. By bringing together representatives and experts from these fields with creative people, software, gaming and web developers we look for digital innovations with a social and economic value.

How do we measure interaction between different communities?
How do we create incentives for such interaction?
How can we use technology to help?

Gamification is “the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business and social impact challenges.” (Kevin Werbach) Due to the power of video games as motivators, they have become more and more increasingly used to incentivize people to engage in and change behaviours and attitudes.

Following up on this principle, we are looking into ways that interactions between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities can be gamified, thus providing tools for ordinary citizens and interactions across communities to become not only visible but also further incentivized.

We would like to individually invite you to participate in a workshop on May 11th, 2013 on this topic. The aim of the workshop is not only to engage you in a conversation about the questions we have already posed above, but also to develop a specific framework for a potential game to be developed in partnership with the Peace Innovation Lab of Stanford University, the Peace it Together project team and UNDP-ACT in Cyprus. The workshop will host around 20 invited individuals, coming from the business sector, civil society, academia as well as other creative sectors.

For similar work of Peace Innovation Lab of Stanford University, check out the “Peace on Facebook” App they have produced for Facebook here: https://peace.facebook.com/ The tool charts friend connections created each day between people of different regions, religions, and political affiliations on Facebook.

Date: May 11th, 2013
Time: 11:00-13:00
Venue: CCMC (Cyprus Community Media Centre) in the Buffer Zone
RSVP: ellada@ngo-sc.org or merdogan@mcmed.eu

Join Stanford Peace Innovation Lab Co-Director Margarita Quihuis, Stephanie Spong, Peace Innovation Lab Game Designer In Residence Chris Bennett, Albert Chen, and Andrew Mayer for a discussion on how the use of game mechanics can help companies solve problems and create a deeper connection with customers.

How can mobile and social technologies combined with game mechanics create and improve products and services in the real world?

At this event, we will explore game mechanics and how they can be used to improve digital products, going beyond pure entertainment, to solve real world problems. This new trend is gaining in popularity and brands are reworking their digital resources. Solutions have appeared in a rich assortment of industries, including health, education, finance. Game mechanics can be used to facilitate communication, leverage common interests, create change, and locate missing persons. Some refer to this trend as serious games. Bottom-line: the use of game mechanics allow companies to solve problems, forge a stronger connection with their customers, and create a better user experience.

This event will take place at the offices of Sheppard Mullin:

Registration Link

“Chris Bennett, an accomplished game designer and expert on game mechanics…”

The remarkable Mr Bennett is also Game Designer in Residence at Stanford Peace Innovation Lab, where we have been fortunate to learn a great deal about game mechanics from him–expertise we are applying to elicit positive, prosocial engagement across conflict boundaries.

Lauren Hall-Stigerts interviews Chris Bennett on the intersection of behavior and game design at Big Fish.

You enjoy playing games, right? It can be effortless to pick up a game and get addicted. If you play games, you’re already good at what it takes to change a habit.

Think about what makes you keep returning to a game. Game designers use a number of techniques to keep you entertained and coming back for more – these are called game mechanics. They are what drive you to solve puzzles, destroy enemies, and hit random brick blocks to see what might pop out.

We gamers can accomplish great things anywhere by using what we’ve learned from gaming.

Let’s look at game mechanics, understand what drives habits, and then mash them together to create a better world (or at least a better us).

 

Can a peace SMS change the course of a conflict? Explore how peacebuilding practitioners leverage new technologies to build social cohesion. With Anne Kahl, Patrick Meier and Margarita Quihuis.
For decades, conflict prevention practitioners have searched for creative ways to bring about human connections that bridge opposed positions. Public information campaigns, reconciliation conferences and exchanges between groups all provide the reflective space for alternative narratives.

As online and mobile connectivity increases, new ways to connect people and build social cohesion are emerging. Peace messages delivered via SMS can have a wider and more timely reach. Reconciliation conferences can be supplemented with online collaborative formulation of peace agreements, drawing on one-texting practices. Exchange visits can be augmented by online interactions, building on existing social networks. Platforms for collaborative design and funding of community projects can be used to identify and deliver “peace dividends.”
Panelists include:

• Anne Kahl, Programme Specialist, Conflict Prevention, United Nations Development Programme
• Helena Puig Larrauri, Peacebuilding Consultant, Change Assembly
• Margarita Quihuis, Co-Director, Stanford Peace Innovation Lab
• Patrick Meier, Director of Social Innovation, Qatar Computing Research Institute & PeaceTXT

This panel will explore how peacebuilding practitioners leverage new technologies to create virtual adaptations of traditional conflict prevention activities.

Listen to the panel discussion here