Switching roles for a simulation
Students enrolled in the in the Governing Globalization course at UNIL developed the simulation for professionals working in International Geneva. It was inspired by the Catalyse simulations initiative, which uses simulations to promote collaboration between politicians and scientists. Led by their professor, Dr. Lucile Maertens, students worked together throughout the 2022 spring semester to set up this role-play exercise, which took place at the Geneva Graduate Institute thanks to the support of the Global Governance Centre (GGC). During the two-hour simulation, participants were first presented with an onset emergency scenario situated in Haiti. Emergency humanitarian practitioners and development aid professionals were then invited to switch roles in order to explore the realities of their counterparts.
An instructional experiment for everyone
Overall, the simulation proved to be a beneficial exercise for all of the parties involved. In addition to the creation of the scenario and the necessary material, students had the chance to be involved in its execution, acting as moderators, observers, journalists, and so forth. This pedagogical experience helped students gain a nuanced understanding of the way global governance works in practice. For some, it also acted as a concrete professional experience, as summarized in student participant interviews collected by Carine Conti. As explained by Dr. Cristina Teleki, a GGC Research Associate and Field Delegate for the International Committee of the Red Cross, in this podcast by Carine Conti, it also proved to be an eye-opening experience for the practitioner participants. Finally, the teaching team was equally satisfied with the substantial educational insights they gained, as stated by teacher Lucile Maertens in this article written by Audrey Adehossi.
The successful first application of this role-play experience foreshadows its potential for various settings and themes.