Last week staff from Oxfordshire County Council tried their hands at ‘Running the World’ with us in London. You can read about it here, here and here. We had a great time – it was a wonderful afternoon and the simulation game was the perfect follow-up to their morning visit to the parliament buildings in Westminster.
The Local Government Association looked after us well too, in a splendid conference room, but it was a hot summer’s day in central London and I could not help wishing we were outdoors.
Experiencing one of our Sustainable Development workshops in the wild; ‘Outdoors and Unplugged’, brings an extra layer of learning and meaning for participants. Team dynamics play out very differently around a campfire and discoveries about our environment and society take on extra significance. We have run summer outdoor workshops twice with Fat Squirrel Outdoor and both events have been magical.
A participant at Fat Squirrel told me, quietly and out of earshot of the group, that it was the first time she had ever really ‘understood the carbon thing’. This was a humbling revelation for me and made us all-the-more determined to keep running these workshops wherever and whenever we can. Another, much younger, participant provided some of our favourite-ever feedback
We have had even younger participants – a 4 month-old took part last year and kept everyone’s mind firmly on the future – but few have been quite as articulate as Finley. (A reminder for us about the importance of blank, open feedback opportunities too).
We collect, and act on, the feedback from all our events. Let us know if you would like to hear what audiences have told us.
Working outside brings extra challenges in our power-point driven, amplified world. The Global Academy team plans even more carefully for these outdoor workshops and coming home smelling of the campfire is very different to sitting on the train home from a city-centre. We bring a bit more kit with us than we use in a corporate conference centre or university auditorium, but the extra effort is always worthwhile.
If you have a team day, away day, or outdoor festival planned for 2026 do get in touch about adding one of our workshops. We would love to join you. If you provide the venue we will show up and do everything else. If you don’t yet have a venue in mind we can talk with our Fat Squirrel friends about a workshop at one of their amazing outdoor facilities.
During a workshop we discover the World’s ‘To Do’ list, better known as the UN Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. We learn how to play the simulation game and then trade, negotiate and make deals, working to build the world we want to see. It’s usually harder than our teams expect but most groups get there by the end of the session. Along the way everyone finds out where their personal objectives fit into the larger picture and how their choices make a difference.
We don’t often get the chance to be ‘in charge’ in a safe, supportive environment and the experience can be very revealing. Many participants come back more than once; most of our booking enquiries come from people who have played the game and then want to share the experience with their own audience. These workshops stick in everyone’s memory and the learning returns for months and years afterwards.
Perhaps you want to run a ticketed event or a fundraiser? Families enjoy this experience as much as professional groups and the workshop is very suitable for mixed age groups. It’s enjoyed by everyone and anyone with a focus on understanding and changing their world.
Did we also mention that it’s a lot of fun?
