Happy New Year, Avatars!

Our next Metaverse Meetup will be "Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds" at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, on Thursday, January 29, 2009, 6-7:30PM.

PLEASE NOTE: This event is free and open to the public but space is limited. RSVP required to: gpievents[at]cceia.org

Description:
"Carnegie Council Senior Fellows Joshua S. Fouts and Rita J. King will present findings from their Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project. After a year of exploring digital Islamic communities, Fouts and King conclude that engaging with people in virtual worlds who self-identify as Muslim can be part of a broader public diplomacy strategy to foster inclusive perspectives on religion, society, and coexistence.

Virtual platforms, while they involve real people, do not involve physical contact, making them a useful medium to explore productive responses to conflict without the threat of violence or intimidation. The U.S. government has recently taken note of these trends, as evidenced by the State Department's move toward Public Diplomacy 2.0 and the Army's presence in the virtual world of Second Life."

Policy Innovations Managing Editor Evan O'Neil will moderate. Wine reception to follow.

Thursday, January 29, 2009, 6-7:30PM
Global Policy Innovations
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
170 East 64th Street
New York, NY 10065-7478
[masked]

More info:
http://eurekadejavu.b...
http://www.cceia.org/...
http://www.policyinno...

In addition, on Friday, January 30, Joshua S. Fouts and Rita J. King will hold a discussion in Second Life and via Twitter to discuss and release the findings. More information is posted on http://eurekadejavu.b.... For those who cannot attend the live event, all of their reports will be downloadable via the web.

Hope to see you there! Remember to please RSVP to: gpievents[at]cceia.org

Best,
Annie Ok
Co-Organizer of Metaverse Meetup