The U.S. Department of State will host a conference on the use of games for serious ends, such as education, social change, and simulation, at Tech@State: Serious Games on May 27-28, 2011.

The event will be held on the campus of the George Washington University at the Jack Morton Auditorium (Media and Public Affairs Building), located at 805 21ST Street NW, Washington, DC 20052. Sessions are scheduled from 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 27 and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 28. The event’s first day will feature government and non-government speakers and games experts assembled from throughout the nation. The second day will be an all-day “unconference,” at which attendees will generate their own agenda based on the interests and expertise of the crowd.

Participants and conference leaders include representatives from commercial games makers, international agencies, non-profits, and academic institutions. A conference event schedule and speaker biographies can be found at http://tech.state.gov/profiles/blogs/serious-games-content-and. Registration is free, open to the general public, and can be accessed through http://techatstate-srsgames.eventbrite.com/. The event will also be streamed live online at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tech-state. Participants can also follow the conference live on Twitter via hashtag #TechAtState and through @eDipAtState, @StateDept, and @TechAtState.

For more information or if you have questions related to the conference, please contact Paul Swider at Swiderpa@state.gov.