Introduction: Gaming for Peace (GAP) Project

Gaming for Peace (GAP) was launched in September 2016. GAP is an EU H2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation project. The main goal of the project is to develop a curriculum in relevant ‘soft skills’ (cooperation, communication, gender and cultural awareness) for personnel from diverse organisations working in the field of conflict prevention, peacebuilding and peacekeeping operations. This curriculum will be embedded in a serious online role-playing game, renewed and updated by returning personnel playing the game. GAP fills a gap in training and offers an efficient and inexpensive way of delivering universal and standardized training in these skills.

The requirements to effectively operate and partake in conflict and post-conflict situations for preventive measures and peacebuilding, demands the best expertise and individual skills in adapting to fraught and complex environments. Although the personnel involved in conflict prevention and peace building (CPPB) generally have ‘traditional based skills’, (e.g. intelligence, investigation, weapons handling etc.), soft skills such as communication, cooperation, negotiation, mediation, gender and cultural awareness are less well emphasised. The GAP project proposes to fill this recognised training gap in peacekeeping; embedding a base curriculum of soft skills that facilitates coordination and relationship building in an environment of organisational, gender and cultural diversity. The ability to foresee and surmount social, cultural, or historical barriers necessitates the most up-to date training for peacekeeping. Gaming for Peace represents an innovative technique for the training of personnel involved in peace operations and requires further expert input as the project continues.