Working towards the Sustainable Development Goals in 2024 and 2025
The end of 2024 was exceedingly busy for the Global Academy; we ran a series SDGs Game workshops for very different audiences. It was a lot of fun, even if the events were all quite close together within a few short weeks!
Firstly our public game in Oxford was part of the If Oxford Festival of Science and Ideas. These ‘everyone welcome’ open events find a broad audience with many different points of view. The conversations after the event were thoughtful and intense. The evening also included our youngest ever workshop participant; she was just 4 months old. Having the future right there in the room with us seemed to sharpen everyone’s awareness.
A session at the amazing Market Hall in Plymouth brought together a smaller, very focussed group of staff from City of Plymouth College. As well as the outstanding location, this game was special because we played 3 rounds of the game. We usually only manage two. We are often asked ‘can we do it again . . . ‘ so this time we did. The commitment of the staff at the college to their roles in the lives of young people was impressive. They were determined to ‘get it right’ with this 3rd round of the game and were rewarded with an impressively balanced world.
An SDGs Game workshop was the last event of the 2024 doctoral training programme for ARIES environmental researchers at the University of East Anglia. These students have a strong environmental focus and a lot of knowledge. This made them particularly engaged with the environmental outcomes of the game.
This group were very surprised (and somewhat dismayed – check the faces in the picture above) when they saw the outcomes of their own initial decisions! With this specialised group, we focussed on SDGs data and resources after the game, while reflecting on their experience. We also discussed their hopes and concerns for the coming months while they are working towards their PhDs. I know this group’s contributions to achieving the 17 SDGs will be significant in the years ahead.
The MSc students studying Energy Systems here in Oxford were full of . . . well . . . energy! They brought a lot of that same energy to their try at running the world, together with a full-on approach to negotiation that created uproar. This was followed by some careful thought when we took a break to consider our progress towards a balanced world.
This very diverse, very knowledgeable group asked searching questions about the SDGs framework. They shared insightful observations from their wide range of home countries. I was very aware that the future they were glimpsing throughout the simulation is very close at hand.
Glimpses of the future are rare treasures
For every audience the SDGs Game lets us look into the future. We get to test ‘what if’ scenarios in the complex systems that run our planet and drive our human activities. Each audience brings its own knowledge and hopes to build a future world for us to live in. While the simulation is great fun to play, it also delivers immediate feedback on the impact of the choices we make while building and running the world. The effects of those choices for our planet, and for everyone who calls it home, become quickly visible.
After the first round of the simulation we pause. We take a look at the world we have built and the factors that created it. When the teams see room for improvement they are keen to have another try. The Plymouth team gave it two more rounds and were then even more satisfied with the world they had built. They were also rather tired!
Different groups make different discoveries during this experience, but a feeling of shared understanding emerges during every workshop. Audiences who will continue to work together have new language and new concepts to use on current questions. Many people reach ‘Ahah!’ moments in the workshop. These arrive when they perceive the pressures that shape our world and the future impact of our current decisions. This new perception often arrives with some force – very few people forget their SDGs Game experience. Many people come back more than once.
The view from the front of the room
So what do I, as a facilitator, take away each time I guide a group through the process of re-building their world? Mainly excitement from working so intensely through this time-travelling experience, plus the buzz that comes from collective progress towards a common cause. There is also a magical sense of hope about the future when I see what could be possible for our world
Working with young people during these workshops always reinforces my optimism. It also leaves me thankful and amazed at my good fortune. It is such a privilege to peek into the future in an atmosphere of trust and excitement, tempered by healthy doses of realism, as people share their hopes for the years ahead.
Every game brings different outcomes. People experience excitement, frustration and occasional indignation as they work to negotiate for their hopes and the world they want to live in. We can’t predict exactly what you will discover through the SDGs simulation game, but based on several hundred responses we know that you and your team will have a good time and come away from the experience both thoughtful and energised.
What comes next?
An SDGs Game for your conference or summer team event?
If you would like to take part in or organise a game workshop in 2025 do let us know. We will be spacing the workshops more this year. If there’s a month that would work particularly well for your team, or you would like to add the SDGs Game to your conference or summer team event, do get in touch quickly.
