10.14.14@12:00

Targeting the Laws of War with Video Games:

Lunch.  Learn.  Play.

#roleplayingIHL

 

When

Tuesday October 14, 2014 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
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Where

American Red Cross Hall of Service 
1730 E St, NW
Washington DC, DC 20006
 

 
Driving Directions 

Contact

Felicity Amos 
American Red Cross 
 
felicity.amos@redcross.org 

The $93 billion video game industry reaches massive audiences across every political and geographic boundary. Improvements in technology allow dozens of gamers to play hyper-realistic first-person shooters and other wartime simulations online. Young gamers routinely confront virtual situations in their living rooms previously only experienced by soldiers on the frontlines.

Yet, as the video game industry has grown, so too has its social consciousness. The Red Cross has been at the global forefront in the promotion of games for social good. Now, as new technologies emerge and gamers are confronted with new challenges, how can humanitarians partner with the gaming industry to promote awareness of the rules that govern the conduct of hostilities in armed conflicts?

Join the American Red Cross and its partners for an exploration of everyday gameplay, and a conversation about how video games can educate players about the laws of war. Experience hands-on demonstrations and hear from leading industry experts. Panelists will address the integration of humanitarian rules into games simulating historical and contemporary armed conflicts, how socially conscious games can inspire change in attitude and behaviors, as well as censorship issues and freedom of speech protections for video games.  

AGENDA                                                                                                                                      

12:00 – 12:30

Open Demonstration Session and Lunch

Participants can play and view games and game sequences                  

12:30 – 1:00

Introduction: Topic Overview and Relationship to the work of the Red Cross  

Speaker 1:  Eric Sigmund, Legal Advisor for International Humanitarian Law, American Red Cross

Speaker 2:  Scott Chambers, Congressional and Public Affairs Assistant, International Committee of the Red Cross

Moderator:  Wes Rist, Director of Education and Research, American Society of International Law

1:00 – 1:45

Panel Discussion

Speaker 1:  Lindsay Grace, Associate Professor and Director of American University’s Game Lab and Studio, American University

Speaker 2: Daniel Greenberg, Chairman, Anti-Censorship and  Social Issues Committee, International Game Developers Association

Speaker 3: Garrison LeMasters, Lecturer for Communication, Culture and Technology, Georgetown University

Moderator: Brad Gutierrez, Director of International Policy and Relations, American Red Cross

1:45 – 2:30

Open questions with all speakers & Networking