Pax Warrior

Key to this initiative is the Pax Warrior website, which includes learning features such as a glossary with the following terms: agency, collaborative learning environments, conflict prevention, counter-factual scenario builder, decision-based simulation, engagement, humanitarianism, Interactive Documentary, interactors, learning objects, and UN acronyms. Professional educators guided the development of Pax's content. Dedicated sections address the needs of particular audiences, as follows:

• For trainers: Pax Warrior provides tools for building skills to manage humanitarian emergencies and conflict scenarios for use by organisations seeking to train and educate aid workers.
  
  
  
• For students: Late high-school and college-age students are invited to use these pages as part of a group that works through the simulation. As students research alongside peers, they may add to the story. This work evolves differently in the context of each group that uses it. Another level of interactivity comes from sharing stories and research, as well as adding visuals and sound. Everyone in a particular learning group then has access to this common pool of information.
  
  
  

  This model of learning is based on the notion of advanced networked content that fuses storytelling with the learning potential of a reality-based decision engine. The first of Pax Warrior's Interactive Documentaries is a web-based multimedia narrative combining text, images, and sound to tell the story of the United Nation's intervention in the Rwandan genocide. The narrative briefs students with the information that would have been available to Roméo Dallaire, the Canadian general who oversaw the UN peacekeeping operation in Rwanda. The software also provides access to archival news documents and primary sources, along with original background articles. At various points in the process, students must make decisions about the mission, based on news and intelligence that were available at the time. They research, consult with advisors and informers, and analyse this information to make diplomatic choices.
  
  
  

• For educators: Pax Warrior Learning Objects have application across many curricula. In Canada, they map to the Social Studies and history curriculum. Pax is designed to facilitate teaching about racism, humanitarianism, civics, ethics, and the critical thinking necessary for decision making. For example, the online teacher's guide "addresses concerns teachers may have in teaching such material. Teachers are given guidelines for appropriate activities to create a safe environment in which to deal with issues and questions that may arise in the classroom.". A curriculum application presents a way of teaching history, peacekeeping, genocide, and human rights through methodology that demands critical thinking about ethical issues while engaging students with a combination of history and new media simulation.

23 YYZee has pre-licensed the full version of Pax Warrior for use with more than 200,000 Canadian high school students, and is pursuing similar agreements with schools in the USA, UK, France and Belgium. It will be accessible through the Internet, which means it can be used in the classroom, or assigned as homework.

Peace, Education.

Pax comes from the Latin word for Peace, and in tribal culture and mythology the word Warrior is taken to mean protector. Launched on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide (April 2004), Pax Warrior is, according to its Producer Andreas Ua'Siaghail, "helping to say "Never Again" in the most concrete way possible...We're bringing this message of respect for human rights to those who will have the most profound effect on our collective future - students."

23 YYZee is a cross-media interactive production studio based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The interdisciplinary team has roots in radio, film making, curriculum and training development, as well as artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and design. The studio writes, creates, and engineers learning experiences for high schools, universities, and leadership training applications. Its mandate is to create engaging experiences in e-learning for clients, partners, and the public.

As of this writing, Pax Warrior is in its initial stages of development. The organisation is inviting people to become involved with the pilot programmes and software testing. For additional details, click here.