Games and virtual worlds are powerful tools for engaging new audiences on a range of serious subject matter, but they are also sources of entertainment and distraction.  How do groups that work on human rights issues and causes use these new media tools to promote their missions?  How do we use abstracted or even cartoony representations of serious human rights situations without trivializing the subject matter or the people they depict?

Global Kids has several years of experiencing integrating serious games and virtual worlds into our youth development and human rights education work.  Our projects have spanned a range of approaches and tools, from creating an online game about poverty in Haiti to facilitating an online dialogue between an AIDS orphan in Uganda and teenagers using SMS text messaging and Second Life.

During this session, we would like to have a strategic and practical discussion about how human rights defenders and educators can best employ games and virtual worlds to increase knowledge and spur civic activism.

Please comment if this seems like a session you would be interested in participating in.