NEW SCENARIOS IN PROJECT IDEELS. Janet Sutherland (University of Bremen. Germany)

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1 Referencia: García-Carbonell, A. Watts F & Montero, B. New Scenarios in Project Ideels. Sidney: University of technology (UTS) ISSN: Volumen: editado en CD. NEW SCENARIOS IN PROJECT IDEELS Janet Sutherland (University of Bremen. Germany) Amparo Garcia-Carbonell Frances Watts Begoña Montero Fleta (Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Spain) Abstract This paper reports on the scenarios designed in Project IDEELS (Intercultural Dynamics in European Education through online Simulation), now in its fourth year of implementation. Each year new scenarios have been produced to broaden the scope of topics that can be of interest to multiple disciplines. Renovating the secondary and tertiary educational systems was undertaken during the first two simulations. For the third year the topic of human rights was chosen to coincide with the signing of the European Charter of Human Rights. The design of future scenarios is in process. Introduction IDEELS is a Socrates Program in which five European universities are involved to make largescale network simulation/gaming a cost-effective educational and training resource readily available to European educational institutions. Project IDEELS brings together a diverse group of educators and researchers from five tertiary institutions in four European countries who share a common interest: simulations and games. The project team designs and implements simulation scenarios; it also develops, tests and evaluates continuous and final results in response to the urgent need to provide an effective means of harnessing the power, creativity and richness of cultural diversity to address the challenges facing Europe. Setting parameters in scenarios design Participants must be introduced to the simulation through a short description of where they are and what the problem with which they will be coping is. All participants should collectively be 1

2 given the same "stage-setting", and then introduced to the particular roles. Sometimes the presentation of their particular roles is followed by subdivision into groups, which are specialized in a certain part of the scenario. As Greeblat and Duke (1981) categorize, simulation and games design principles cover use of symbolic structure, use of scenario and simulation/game procedures. "The use of scenario seems to parallel each use in a novel or the performing arts (legimitate theatre, movies, TV). In each case it becomes an integral part of the technique for conveying the "story" or plot [contents in our case]... Probably no single failure in a game [simulation] design is more common than an inappropriate use of the scenario (too complex or simple, inappropriate to the audience [or the technology used], timing unsuccessful), and this can inevitably be traced to either an initial lack of clarity by the designer relative to purpose, audience and condition of use or to the intensitive or inappropriate use by the [facilitator]" (Greenblat and Duke, 1981: 50). Paraphrasing Greenblat and Duke, a scenario is simply a text outlining the content of the simulation. It outlines starting conditions and describes circumstances leading into play. It deals with aspects such as the economic, social and political features, either represented by text or supplemented with diagrams and illustrations. Role descriptions might be considered a part of the scenario. In our case, they are normally offered in the first phase of the simulation, before the action starts. In this paper we will not cover the aspects of role descriptions but scenario text outlining. Eutropia The simulation takes place in Eutropia, coming from Europe and utopia. Eutropia is an imaginary world, an imaginary continent made up of imaginary countries, with names such as Bardland, Northland, Southland, Midland, Highland or Coastland, whose identities are performed by the different participating teams. The simulations revolve around the building of a new Eutropian capital, Eutropolis. The name Eutropia has been used for centuries to describe a particular geographical region; however, it has only recently come to refer to the political Federation of which the individual nation-states are now members. The Council of Ministers and Parliament of the Eutropian Federation want Eutropia to continue to grow together, economically, politically, socially and culturally. They are convinced that a truly Eutropian citizenry can only develop when Eutropia's citizens begin to see themselves as Eutropians in a political sense. At the same time, the goal of "Eutropianization" must not be cultural and political homogeneity gained at the cost of 2

3 Eutropia's richly diverse heritage. On the contrary, all of these identities must continue to find expression in the Eutropia of tomorrow. Eutropia is a community committed to democracy and based on the rule of law. The building of a united Eutropia is a democratic project arising from the political desire of democratic States to associate with one another in an 'organization of States' featuring common institutions and acting on the basis of respect for human rights. The founding States are setting up a community with its own institutions, legal personality and the capacity of international representation. This process of integration through law and the method of bringing it about make the Eutropian Federation fundamentally different from the organizations set up by traditional international treaties. The existence of this community of law will give every Eutropian citizen the right to appeal to the Eutropian Court of Justice for protection wherever a disputed decision affects him directly and individually. It is within this context that work has begun to draw up a Constitution for the Federation of Eutropia. The Human Rights scenario The scenarios first designed were Primary and Secondary Education in Eutropolis ( ) and Tertiary Education in Eutropolis ( ). The scenario chosen for the 2000/2001 simulation run deals with Human Rights in Eutropia and specifically, economic, social and cultural rights. This scenario paralleled the approval of the European Charter of Human Rights at the European summit conference which took place in Nice, France, in November, The European charter is supposed to be the embryo of the future constitution of Europe. The choice of Human Rights as the topic of this scenario responds to the following reasons: a) The multitude of different aspects it presents almost guarantees response for everyone; b) Some aspects will be topical in every European country; however, different issues will have different priorities, resulting in the need to communicate these priorities and make compromises; c) The concept of a human-rights declaration has special relevance in the context of the current discussion about whether to write some 50 human rights into the European Union's Treaty of Nice in November/ December 2000: Many European countries have to deal with problems directly derived from human rights. 3

4 Human Rights have always been regarded by States as their own preserve, one over which they tend to be extremely sensitive and vigilant, since they involve every aspect, whether economic, social or cultural, of the life of a country. As relations between States have developed, it has been possible to move recognition for fundamental rights out of the national arena and bring it onto the international stage through the adoption of various conventions, all based on the notion that 'something is due to human beings because they are human beings', irrespective of the social or cultural environment in which they live. With this scenario the objectives which partipants must reach are the following: 1. To share responsibility for ensuring that the inalienable rights of the human person in Eutropia (Europe) are respected, safeguarded and promoted. 2. To become immersed in the process of integration through law. The method of bringing it about makes the Eutropian Federation fundamentally different from the organizations set up by traditional international treaties. The existence of this community of law will give every Eutropian citizen the right to appeal to the Eutropian Court of Justice for protection wherever a disputed decision affects him directly and individually. It is within this context that work has begun to draw up a Constitution for the Federation of Eutropia. As part of the ongoing effort to bring the countries in the Eutropian Federation closer together politically and to harmonize the various legal systems, the Eutropian Parliament consulted an international group of constitutional experts and asked them to prepare a Draft of a Constitution for the Eutropian Federation. These experts have also prepared two additional documents for those wishing to know more about the history of human rights declarations and conventions, in general, or about the development of the Eutropian Federation's Constitution, in particular. Finally, the Eutropian Planning Commission has prepared a Briefing Document for the Task Force on Human Rights to use in developing their recommendations. The Eutropian Constitution, and resultant action by the Eutropian Parliament and Court of Justice, is grounded in the general framework of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, supplemented by the two international covenants of 1966 mentioned above. The two principles underlying the Federation's Constitution which form the keystone of the international system of protection for human rights are: 1. The principle that human rights are universal, which emphasizes the existence of values common to all mankind; the principle that they are indivisible, which prevents the 4

5 establishment of any ranking order as between civil and political rights on the one hand and economic, social and cultural rights on the other; 2. The principle that human rights, democracy and development are interdependent, which amounts to a new definition of development centered around the development of the human being as the possessor of fundamental rights and beneficiary of the development process. The corollary of these principles is the complementary relationship that exists between the concepts of human rights and democracy: 1. While respect for human rights is a prerequisite if each individual is to achieve his or her full potential, democratic society is a prerequisite for the exercise of those rights, since it forms the general framework in which they are set; human rights are themselves a prerequisite for a democratic society, since such a society is based on the contribution each person makes, individually and voluntarily, to the life of the community; 2. The principle of non-interference is relative: human rights are an important legitimate aspect of relations between States and no State can invoke the principle of non-interference as grounds for rejecting any manifestation of concern by other States at human rights violations. By the final conference, delegations will have reached an understanding with their fellowdelegations as to the formulation of the human-rights section of the Constitution, so that the final conference itself can be devoted to the process of formal agreement on the wording of the proposal. Only those clauses on which agreement has been reached can be ratified by the member governments. Participants who are performing as members are asked to consider what status this section of the proposed constitution for Eutropia should have, and should place it somewhere between the following poles: a) legally binding for all members, and enforceable through the courts of the members, with common standards and requirements; b) an official Declaration, with the population of member states empowered to appeal to the Eutropian Court of Justice in Eutropolis; c) an official Declaration, to be interpreted by the courts of the member states as they see fit. 5

6 The task of the participating teams was to agree on a constitution for Eutropia. The teams had to define and negotiate human right issues and assume a shared responsibility for ensuring that the inalienable rights of the human person are respected, safeguarded and promoted. Conclusion In the 2000 on-line simulation run, participants were university students from Spain, Latvia, Norway and Germany coming from different areas of study. They formed eight teams which played the roles of five country-teams (Northland, Bardland, Highland, Midland, Coastland), a newspaper, an ecological group and a citizens action group. The latter team had an off-line participation which was a novelty tested in this run. We cut down on the number of issues touched upon in the European declaration and grouped those that we chose to deal with in three categories: personal and community rights, information rights and economic rights. We chose, for example, not to deal with the topic of immigration policy but it did creep into the discussion on economic rights. The discussions on the right to life were, as always, very lively. Abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty never fail to be controversial. The topic of information rights, much to our surprise, also provoked much discussion among the teams. Sometimes scenarios must be adapted to participant profiles in order to make them suitable. In conlusion we can say that the type of scenarios that we present respond to an interactive simulation, rather than linear or radial, which are the three types of simulation that appear in the taxonomy drawn up by Ellington, Addinall and Percival (1983). "An exercise can be said to have an interactive structure if the most important organizational feature is some form of multiway interaction between individuals or groups. The interaction can take a variety of forms (eg., exchange of information, trading, negotiation, lobbying) and can be organized in a large number of ways, but almost invariably gives such exercises a much looser, more informal and less predictable character than tidily-structured exercises of the linear or radial types" (Greenblat 1988:58).The scenarios designed in Project IDEELS simulate complex social, organizational, political and international situations. Moreover, they are interactive exercises which are used used to develop a wide range of useful communication skills. References Ellington, H., Addinall, E. & Percival, F. (1983). A Hnadbook of Game Design. London: Kogan Page. Greenblat, C.S. & Duke, R.(1981) Principles and Practices of Gaming-Simulation. Beverly Hills.Sage Publications. 6

7 Greenblat, C.S. (1988). Designing Games and Simulations: An illustrated Handbook. Newbury Park. London. Sage Publications. 7