Gaming and Bilingualism in Peace Education
In this presentation, Visualising Peace student Shengyuan Ji discusses a range of publications that cover gaming and bilingualism as interesting manifestations of peace education, not only in the classroom but also in military training contexts. Below the video, you can find a summary of the publications he discusses. These are also available in our Visualising Peace Library.
Dorn, A. W., Webb, S., & Pâquet, S. (2020). From wargaming to peacegaming: digital simulations with peacekeeper roles needed. International Peacekeeping, 27(2), 289-310.
In this article, the authors engage with the concept of peacebuilding in the process of designing video games. As part of the historical background, the authors firstly highlight the fact that wargames play an important role in helping the army to recruit soldiers. The second part of the article presents the use of peace gaming in UN peacekeeping projects and how different actors such as peacekeeping soldiers, scholars and general public can benefit from it. The authors also compare the differences between the two types of games, arguing that while wargames create a binary battlefield, peace gaming focuses more on resilience and cooperation. The authors highlight how peace gaming can be used to train peacekeepers, because peace gaming can improve soft skills such as communication, cultural sensitivity and gender awareness, as well as cooperation.
This article complements other library entries, which examine the role of UN peacekeepers in the peacemaking projects. By shining a spotlight on peacemaking through peace-gaming, it identifies a practical path for improving the effectiveness of UN peacemaking processes. For visitors interested in UN peacemaking projects, see Towards a human security approach to peacebuilding. For visitors interested in peace gaming, see our project website for more information on building peace through gaming.
Sandole, D. (2008). The ethnography of peace education: Some lessons learned from Palestinian–Jewish integrated education in Israel. In Handbook of conflict analysis and resolution (pp. 170-182). Routledge.
This article discusses the role of bilingual education in peacebuilding in Israel. The author conducted ethnographic field research at a local school in order to engage and participate in the bilingual education. He finds that this type of education empowers minority groups and supports coexistence and reconciliatory efforts. For instance, the teachers encouraged both Israeli Palestinian children to turn to their peers in the other group when help with either language was necessary. The author argues that the intergroup contact generally promotes intergroup acceptance. Bilingual education was also found to improve the diversity of the school, the local community and the Israeli society. The author also calls for related social and political changes to improve bilingual education in Israel.
Other entries in the library such as ‘Transrational Peacebuilding Education to Reduce Epistemic Violence’ and ‘Peace Education, International Trends’ discuss peace education in other contexts. This article’s focus on bilingual education contributes to a wider set of resrouces in the librart on the peace education. It also discusses the role of languages in peace recovery from ethnical conflicts in broader, non-educational settings.
Harber, C., & Sakade, N. (2009). Schooling for violence and peace: How does peace education differ from ‘normal ’schooling? Journal of Peace Education, 6(2), 171-187.
In this article, the authors engage with the concept of peace education. To introduce the importance of encouraging peace education in schools, the authors highlight the roles that schools can play in sustaining overt forms of violence, manifesting itself in a number of ways such as sexual violence, bullying and racial/ ethnical prejudice. In this context, the authors call for more peace education in schools all over the world because it can enable children, youths and adults to prevent conflict and violence, both overt and structural; to resolve conflict peacefully; and to create the conditions conducive to peace, whether at an intra-personal, interpersonal, inter-group, national or international level. In the context of the classroom, the authors also give precise advice on dealing with the conflicts of pupils. They suggest that teaching staff should ask pupils for their observations on any conflict that arises, enabling them to think critically about conflicts and reflecting on them instead of punishing them directly.
This library entry expands ideas of peace education. It not only advocates for educational methods that teach pupils peace stories and narrative, but also aims to create a peaceful teaching environment in school. On the one hand, this type of peace education can be viewed as an attempt to help pupils to achieve inner peace. On the other hand, it can offer us a reflection on the weakness and problem of traditional education. Other library entries such as A Gender Perspective on Peace Education the Work for Peace can provide more reflection from the gender perspective on peace education. Entries such as ‘Reclaiming Peace in International Relations’ shows how other formats of peace education are used in educational institutions.
Smith, J. (2017). Peace Education in Central Africa: A public health intervention. OxPeace 2017.
This podcast is part of the program ‘building peace’and it discusses Aegis Trust’s peace education programme in Kigali, Rwanda. Peace activists established a peace memorial museum which enables thousands of students to get involved in the peace education provided by the museum. Data shows that students who participate in the program are more likely to contribute to peace reconciliation within their communities. The peace education program also provides participants with an opportunity to reflect on the conflict either from the side of perpetrators or as survivors. The speaker believe that this form of critical thinking can contribute to reconciliation at the community level.
Compared with the other entries about peace education in the library, this entry shows an overlap between the concept of peace education and peace museums. It shows how peace education can be implemented in the museum space to promote reconciliation in conflict-affected communities. Other entries such as ‘The effectiveness of Peace Education Learning Models Toward Students’ Understanding of Peace-Loving and Anti-Violence’ and ‘A Gender Perspective on Peace Education the Work for Peace focus more on peace education in other formats such as school curriculum.
Citation: Cuhadar, E., & Kampf, R. (2014). Learning about conflict and negotiations through computer simulations: The case of PeaceMaker. International Studies Perspectives, 15(4), 509-524.
This article introduces the videogame PeaceMaker which has been used in addressing the Israeli-Palestine conflict. In the first part of the essay, the authors introduce the game which simulates realistic Israeli-Palestinian interactions, with the player assuming the role of either the Israeli Prime Minister or the President of the Palestinian Authority. In each case, the leaders attempt to make effective policy choices leading to peace, while having to respond to external events like suicide bombings, army raids, and the demands of public opinion. The goal of the game in either role is to establish a stable two-states solution to the conflict. In the second part of the game, the authors argue that PeaceMaker provides players with an opportunity to resolve the conflict. Students in an Arab-Israeli history course played PeaceMaker from the perspectives of the Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the beginning and end of the semester. In this context, the PeaceMaker improved intergroup understanding, potentially leading to reconciliation.
This article provides a fresh perspective on the role of gaming in peace-building. PeaceMaker contains both war- and peace-related content, unlike some other peace games. Other library entries such as (entry no.2 in this document) and ‘No Justice Without Peace, But What Peace Is on Offer? Palestine, Israel and the International Criminal Court’ offer different perspectives on peace-building in the context of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, via peace education and legal routes.