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Global consensus is a dream, but Twitter is real: simulating a sustainable development goals summit through interdisciplinary classroom politics and negotiation by social media

Global consensus is a dream, but Twitter is real: simulating a sustainable development goals summit through interdisciplinary classroom politics and negotiation by social media
Global consensus is a dream, but Twitter is real: simulating a sustainable development goals summit through interdisciplinary classroom politics and negotiation by social media
Rio+20 saw commitment from the international community to develop Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to shape the global efforts towards sustainable development. As part of an interdisciplinary curriculum innovation module at the University of Southampton, students take part in a ‘SDGs Summit’. Interdisciplinary student groups represent nation ‘blocs’ attempting to reach consensus on six priority SDGs, from a starting set of sixteen, through personal and social media negotiation. The exercise requires students to inhabit the perspectives of different ‘blocs’, challenging them to extend their understanding and application of sustainable development beyond their own discipline. This paper shares best practice on this innovative vehicle for teaching students the complexities surrounding international political negotiation and agreement where the outcomes will have differing social, economic and environmental consequences for the ‘blocs’, depending on their economic prosperity, natural resources, states of development, and political ideologies. The paper also explores how the summit incorporates the challenges around inequality of access and influence on the global negotiating platform. The adaptation of existing simulation and negotiation pedagogies to address current global political concerns and the use of Twitter in the classroom is considered to be a suitable approach to address the complex interdisciplinary subject area of sustainable development. Although initially focused at ESD practitioners, the interdisciplinary, social media and international focus of the SDGs Summit renders this approach relevant for pedagogical innovators and students across the globe
education, sustainable development, curriculum, sustainable development goals, simulation, gaming, twitter
978-3-319-10689-2
551-566
Springer
Kemp, Simon
942b35c0-3584-4ca1-bf9e-5f07790d6e36
Kendal, Julia
b4db45b3-1fc5-4b20-aec9-b87e304641e2
Warren, Adam
ee55cbac-337b-43f4-9b59-e01ddadb307b
Wright, Laurence
e57bb51d-a89a-4d49-aaa5-0fe1c6457329
Canning, John
5332fcd2-2c2a-41a2-aacd-ca9378fb11c4
Grace, Marcus
173cc188-a012-441d-8076-ec8d962345da
Saunders, Clare
92bd75f3-076a-4e11-b563-61b7fb094b73
Kemp, Simon
942b35c0-3584-4ca1-bf9e-5f07790d6e36
Kendal, Julia
b4db45b3-1fc5-4b20-aec9-b87e304641e2
Warren, Adam
ee55cbac-337b-43f4-9b59-e01ddadb307b
Wright, Laurence
e57bb51d-a89a-4d49-aaa5-0fe1c6457329
Canning, John
5332fcd2-2c2a-41a2-aacd-ca9378fb11c4
Grace, Marcus
173cc188-a012-441d-8076-ec8d962345da
Saunders, Clare
92bd75f3-076a-4e11-b563-61b7fb094b73

Kemp, Simon, Kendal, Julia, Warren, Adam, Wright, Laurence, Canning, John, Grace, Marcus and Saunders, Clare (2014) Global consensus is a dream, but Twitter is real: simulating a sustainable development goals summit through interdisciplinary classroom politics and negotiation by social media. In, Integrative Approaches to Sustainable Development at University Level. New York, US. Springer, pp. 551-566. (doi:10.1007/978-3-319-10690-8_38).

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

Rio+20 saw commitment from the international community to develop Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to shape the global efforts towards sustainable development. As part of an interdisciplinary curriculum innovation module at the University of Southampton, students take part in a ‘SDGs Summit’. Interdisciplinary student groups represent nation ‘blocs’ attempting to reach consensus on six priority SDGs, from a starting set of sixteen, through personal and social media negotiation. The exercise requires students to inhabit the perspectives of different ‘blocs’, challenging them to extend their understanding and application of sustainable development beyond their own discipline. This paper shares best practice on this innovative vehicle for teaching students the complexities surrounding international political negotiation and agreement where the outcomes will have differing social, economic and environmental consequences for the ‘blocs’, depending on their economic prosperity, natural resources, states of development, and political ideologies. The paper also explores how the summit incorporates the challenges around inequality of access and influence on the global negotiating platform. The adaptation of existing simulation and negotiation pedagogies to address current global political concerns and the use of Twitter in the classroom is considered to be a suitable approach to address the complex interdisciplinary subject area of sustainable development. Although initially focused at ESD practitioners, the interdisciplinary, social media and international focus of the SDGs Summit renders this approach relevant for pedagogical innovators and students across the globe

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More information

Published date: 10 October 2014
Keywords: education, sustainable development, curriculum, sustainable development goals, simulation, gaming, twitter
Organisations: Centre for Environmental Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 385935
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/385935
ISBN: 978-3-319-10689-2
PURE UUID: fe5ac968-0ff7-4494-a1f8-c8fbce69a207

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Date deposited: 15 Jan 2016 15:47
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 22:24

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Contributors

Author: Simon Kemp
Author: Julia Kendal
Author: Adam Warren
Author: Laurence Wright
Author: John Canning
Author: Marcus Grace
Author: Clare Saunders

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