The Center of Innovation for Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding's “Smart Tools for Smart Power” initiative brings together peacebuilding practitioners and technology innovators to identify high-impact opportunities for technology to bolster peacebuilding and stability operations.
As part of this initiative, the Center is engaged in research into:
- Mobile Phones and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan: In the past few years, mobile phones have been used in connection with campaigns to restrain election violence, reduce corruption, develop the news media, and support counter-insurgency to name just a few. Success has been significant, but mixed. Yet little has been done to evaluate systematically the factors of success or failure in the use of mobile phones for peacebuilding. In a public event held in June 2010, the Center focused on the use of mobile phones for conflict management in one of the most difficult conflict environments today: Afghanistan.
- Serious Games and Simulations for Peacebuilding: In 2009 the Center focused on a specific area of under-used technology: simulations and serious games for peacebuilding. In July 2009, the Center and the 3D Security Initiative co-hosted a public, full-day multimedia showcase of state-of-the-art simulation and “serious gaming” tools that may transform the way that peacebuilding organizations plan and collaborate. This was followed by an experts working session using the collaborative deliberation facilities of Lockheed Martin’s Center of Innovation to brainstorm, evaluate potential training applications, and set priorities for future tool development.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s).