The Build Peace Database aims to document crossovers between peacebuilding and new technologies around the world, focusing on communications, networking and gaming technologies.

The information is organised in two ways: with a map of listed orgainsations and projects, and also through a extensive tables with a search filter to organise information.

Projects are categorised by the peacebuilding program area they fall into, and the way in which they use technology in their work. Categories include, for example:

• Contact & collaboration: Initiatives fostering collaboration between groups in a conflict setting are often an important component of peacebuilding programs. These initiatives may be simply opportunities for contact between different groups. Such contacts can develop into inter-group networks of connectors that support peace messaging and activities to prevent conflict.

• Attitude change: Attitudes and behaviors towards the “other” in a conflict setting are often critical stumbling blocks for peaceful change. Many peacebuilding programs focus on challenging prevailing attitudes and encourage behavioral change, often by providing opportunities to learn about the other and spaces to build new narratives about inter-group relations.

Some projects listed include:

PeaceTXT, an SMS mass campaign project for behavior change in Kenya, a set of conflict prevention SMS that are sent out to broad list of subscribers, particularly around times perceived to be tense.

Crack in the Wall, a platform for conversation and engagement between Palestinians and Israelis using social media. On joining the Facebook site “in the wall”, web users can connect through a forum which will have translation in Hebrew and Arabic.

Connect Program links students from 27 countries around the world through a videoconferencing application, allowing them to connect through a facilitated dialogue program which begins with discussing everyday life and progresses into more controversial topics.

If you would like to contribute a project, use the form available on their website. For more ideas about the theory of technologies for peacebuilding, look at this report by the Swiss Peace Foundation.

Screenshot of logo from Build Peace Database website republished under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.