IB Global Politics 11 Students Host Shawnigan Lake School

October 6, 2022

Academics

GNS

On September 27, students in IB Global Politics 11 hosted students from Shawnigan Lake School to practice a model diplomacy simulation, giving everyone involved an opportunity to engage with real world issues using real tools.

It was exciting to offer this to our students, as diplomacy is an important tool, but not simple or easy to use. Taking place in both the Senior School Learning Commons and the Denford Hall, the event allowed students to explore the complexities of different Inter-Governmental Organizations, providing insight into the real challenge faced in the global community. Role-playing opportunities like this support students in developing many skills, like consensus building, while taking different perspectives and practicing their communication.

Shawnigan Lake School teachers Mr. Remi Anctil and Mr. Paul Klassen joined the group, and it was important for us teachers to engage beyond our school walls. Together we witnessed a variety of experiences and interpretations of all situations.

For example, students were given an international problem to discuss—the Ukraine/Russia conflict. The simulation scenario matched the real world: as the problem progresses, calls for NATO to intervene directly are likely to grow. NATO allies continue to weigh how to become more directly involved in the conflict, and carefully consider how to aid Ukraine while safeguarding against a dangerous escalation.

Students were given a NATO country to represent, and asked to research their country’s position and decide on a policy option. Then, they engaged in unmoderated meeting time to create a consensus on policy decisions, and moderated meeting time to debate different viewpoints and actions.

Some argued that the security threat to Europe was too great to take aggressive, defensive action, while others were able to collaborate and came to a clear decision on actions to take.

As the day went on, students told us what a fun and great learning experience this was! They said how they liked meeting new people and collaborating with them, and it was unique to discuss real world issues with peers outside of GNS. Though it might have been awkward at first, they realized how much they needed to connect with one another to get things done. Learning more about NATO in Europe and the policies of the organizations was different than many expected, but interesting nonetheless.

Thank you to all of our IB Global Politics 11 students for participating and being such gracious hosts! And thank you to everyone at Shawnigan Lake School for joining us and participating; we can’t wait to do this again!