Today@Dal

A team of students from Dalhousie University's informatics program have created a video game that will serve as a training tool for peacekeepers interacting with child soldiers in Somalia.

The unique new game will be used by the Romeo Dallaire Child Soldier Initiative. Based out of Dalhousie, the organization is working to prevent the exploitation of child soldiers across the globe.

The game was created by a group of 11 informatics students for a community outreach project over the course of three semesters.


Mimi Cahill, a Halifax native and third-year student who worked on the project, said the game helps users prepare for real-world interactions with child soldiers.

“It's meant to be a training tool,” she said in a news release.

“It leads you through various situations where you see a child soldier, and you interact with them by creating dialogue. Depending on your approach, you might end up making the child angry, and you'll lose the game.”

The game was designed for use in Somalia within the African Union Peacekeeping Mission, but it can also be customized by users to suit situations in other areas of the globe where child soldiers are present.

According to the UN Secretary-General's 2015 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, seven national armies and 50 armed groups across 13 countries use child soldiers.

“Sometimes they (peacekeepers) don't have time to read large documents before interacting with child soldiers,” said Cahill. “Situations come up quickly and they need to act fast. This game will help in those situations.”

Josh Boyter, a spokeswoman for the Romeo Dallaire Child Soldier Initiative, said the game is a huge asset for the organization, and for peacekeepers around the world.

“Working together on the game project, we have created a student-developed tool that will have a direct impact on the work that the Dallaire Initiative does around the globe to prevent the use of children as weapons of war,” he said in the release.

Cahill said the community outreach aspect of the informatics program gives students proper experience working with real-world clients.

“There are a lot of great projects to choose from,” she said. “It's a great course because it helps students build new skill sets, and it provides non-profits with free services that they might not have been able to afford otherwise. It provides us with the chance to work with organizations who are doing meaningful work locally and abroad.”

Read story (http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1348197-dalhousie-students-create-training-video-game-for-peacekeepers)