[Reader-list] Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds findings: "Elevating humanity's most distinguishing feature: The Imagination."

[Paul Miller]

I just thought I'd forward this. They're quite into creating more  
dialog.
Paul



Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Joshua S. Fouts" <josh.fouts at gmail.com>
> Date: February 2, 2009 4:10:46 PM EST
> To: "Joshua S. Fouts" <josh at dancinginkproductions.com>
> Cc: "Rita J. King" <rita at dancinginkproductions.com>
> Subject: Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds findings:  
> "Elevating  humanity's most distinguishing feature: The Imagination."
> Reply-To: josh.fouts at gmail.com
>
> Dear friends and colleagues:  We are pleased to share the below with  
> you
>
> Findings from Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds Project
> "Elevating humanity's most distinguishing feature: The Imagination."
>
> February 2, 2009 -- After a year of research across the Internet and  
> four continents, Dancing Ink Productions' Rita J. King and Joshua S.  
> Fouts, senior fellows at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in  
> International Affairs, have released the findings from the  
> Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project. The project was  
> funded by a grant from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation.
>
> The findings include a trilogy of actionable reports including  
> policy recommendations on the potential use of virtual worlds for  
> digital diplomacy to be submitted to the Obama Administration; a  
> mini broadcast quality documentary produced in collaboration with  
> Ill Clan Animation Studios; and a graphic book chronicling the  
> journey.  By releasing three versions of the report Fouts and King  
> hope to make accessible what is still a very new medium.  Digital  
> versions of the findings can be found here: http://dancinginkproductions.com/?page_id=80 
>  .
>
> "With this report, Josh and Rita have illuminated a new path–a  
> definite intelligible plan–for practical public diplomacy in an area  
> of supreme urgency. Furthermore, they have done so by elevating  
> humanity's most distinguishing feature: the imagination," said Joel  
> Rosenthal, President of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in  
> International Affairs.
>
> The idea for Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project was  
> hatched with a very specific idea in mind:  How could people learn  
> about other cultures in an authentic, experiential space --  
> specifically, how could they learn about cultures that self- 
> identified as Muslim?  King and Fouts chose Second Life for many  
> reasons, among them that it is the best international platform --  
> more than 70% of its users are from outside the United States.   
> Their goal was to to see what they could learn about Islam -- not by  
> inviting particular people with particular perspectives into Second  
> Life, but rather to follow the trail of what was already happening  
> culturally in the space that might yield new insight about Islam.
>
> "Belief systems overlap now in ways that would have been unthinkable  
> millennia ago when many of the conflicting ideas still governing  
> human behavior today were created, but immersive virtual  
> environments offer the perfect medium for assessment of concepts of  
> self and community," Rita J. King told the audience at the Carnegie  
> Council. "It is not just a good medium, passable amid a sea of other  
> equally effective options. It is the perfect medium, at least as an  
> initial training ground to teach the digital culture how to engage  
> in difficult and sensitive conversations involving real-world  
> challenges in the complete absence of any possibility of physical  
> violence or even any trace of intimidation. Additionally, virtual  
> environments offer a deeper level of candor, which is necessary for  
> true understanding."
>
> "Earlier this week, President Barack Obama launched the first public  
> diplomacy campaign of his presidency by granting his first  
> international interview to a non-US satellite television news  
> station, Al Arabiya," said Joshua S. Fouts in his January 29, 2009  
> remarks at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International  
> Affairs.  "In doing this he effectively went over the leaders of the  
> Middle East and spoke to the people.  'All too often,' President  
> Obama said, 'the United States starts by dictating ... so let's  
> listen.'"
>
> This project at its foundation is about storytelling which is about  
> understanding something new about the human condition.  Public  
> Diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy or Strategic Communication as it is  
> also known, are efforts by governments, NGOs, and civil societies to  
> tell their story to foreign publics. Too often public diplomacy is  
> criticized for being too preachy and not listening. With this  
> project, Fouts and King listened to, and documented the narratives  
> of, people from all over the physical world who either practice  
> Islam, or want to further understand those who do.
>
> Digital copies of all of the Understanding Islam through Virtual  
> Worlds reports can be downloaded here:http://dancinginkproductions.com/?page_id=80
>
> For more information, see DIP's Dispatches from the Imagination Age: www.eurekadejavu.com 
>  and the Dancing Ink Productions homepage: www.DancingInkProductions.com 
>  .
>
> ###
>
> -- 
> -- 
> Joshua S. Fouts
> Senior Fellow, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs;
> Senior Fellow, Digital Media and Public Policy, The Center for the  
> Study of the Presidency
> Chief Global Strategist
> Dancing Ink Productions, LLC
> e: josh at dancinginkproductions.com
> w: dancinginkproductions.com
> b: www.eurekadejavu.com
> skype: josholalia
> Visit our blog: "Dispatches from the Imagination Age" www.eurekadejavu.com