'Public Diplomacy Through Games' Award Details Announced

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy has announced details on an award ceremony honoring the winner of the Reinventing Public Diplomacy through Games Contest, revealing that the event will take place at the Davidson Center, USC Campus in Los Angeles on May 8, 2006 at 3:00 pm. In addition, it will be simulcast within the the massively multiplayer online game Second Life at the virtual location called Annenberg Island. According to the organizers, the goal of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy with the contest is: “To explore intersection of virtual worlds and diplomacy. Our goals are to explore how virtual worlds can be used as effective tools to bridge cultural gaps, to foster new ways to resolve conflict and to learn and teach new skills in dealing with each other to build a better world.” Announced finalists range from virtual cultural exchange programs to strategy games about the Israel and Palestinian conflict or international water rights. Finalists include a diplomatic game built inside Second Life called Exchanging Cultures, a cross-cultural political video game simulation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict called Peacemaker, Hydro Hijinks, a class project designed to promote discussion about international water issues and rights, and Global Kids Island: Fostering Public Diplomacy Through Second Life, an after-school program wherein students learn about and work together regrading a global issue. For more information on the USC Center on Public Diplomacy and the Reinventing Public Diplomacy through Games Contest, as well as how to RSVP for the event, interested parties can visit the official website.