Marko’s Story

"I vividly remember walking into a museum in Warsaw, Poland and seeing an exhibit on war gaming, where youth would learn how to become a war hero and fight the enemy. In Russia, 2.5 billion Russian rubles were invested into war-glorifying video games. 18,000 soldiers were recruited through video gaming shooters," Marko Mazepa explains. Rather than focusing on war violence, he believes we can become peace heroes. His journey has brought him to build a vision of "Peace x Gaming" -- the creation of simulation games where university and graduate students can learn how to build emotional intelligence, read the room, and solve problems through dialogue rather than conflict to successfully conduct ceasefire negotiations. Across three campuses in Albania, Poland, and Belgium, as well as Tufts, Harvard Research Institute, and MIT, he is working to create these peace-building exercises for university students across all disciplines. Marko on his vision in 5 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzaigCAvRuc