MOSES: exploring new ground in media and post-conflict reconciliation

While the history of traditional media in post-conflict peace building efforts is rich and well studied, the potential for interactive new media technologies in this area has gone unexplored. In cooperation with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia, we have constructed a novel interactive kiosk system, called MOSES, for use in that country’s post-conflict reconciliation effort. The system allows the sharing of video messages between Liberians throughout the country, despite the presence of little or no communications infrastructure. In this paper, we describe the MOSES system, including several innovative design elements. We also present a novel design methodology we employed to manage the various distances between our design team and the intended user group in Liberia. Finally, we report on a qualitative study of the system with 27 participants from throughout Liberia. The study found that participants saw MOSES as giving them a voice and connecting them to other Libe...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2010
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Thomas N. Smyth, John Etherton, Michael L. Best
• Keywords: CHI 2010, Country’s Post-conflict Reconciliation, Post-conflict Peace Building, Post-conflict Reconciliation