16.02.2023 Workshop at the University of Lodz

It was a very intensive and productive workshop that we were able to conduct as part of the project Simulating Human Rights in Peacebuilding (SHARINPEACE) at the University of Lodz in Poland.

SHARINPEACE is about implementing an online simulation in which students step into the role of organisations in peacebuilding and work out ways of conflict transformation in a conflict based on real events. Six partner universities from Marburg (DE), Gießen (DE), Odense (DK), Stockholm (SE), Belgrade (SRB) and Lodz (PL) are involved in the project.

The focus of our workshop in Lodz from 09-11.02.2023 was the planning for the implementation of a pilot of the so-called Crisis Intervention Simulation (CRIS) in the coming winter semester and how we want to implement the simulation online on the technical level.

In the CRIS simulation, a real conflict is fictitiously escalated. We discussed long and intensively in the team which conflict is suitable for SHARINPEACE. The question of who in the team could contribute what expertise was also important here. We decided to work on the Cyprus conflict for the coming winter semester.

Another central part of the workshop was the exchange about the technical implementation of the simulation. Those present, including students and staff from the University of Lodz, shared their experiences in online teaching. The colleagues from Marburg presented how they conduct simulations online and which tools they use for this. The difficulty for joint online teaching in the network is also that the locations use different software and platforms or interpret data protection regulations differently.

The workshop in Lodz set the framework for further work on the project and the implementation of the pilot in the winter semester. The individual work packages are now being realigned for the pilot. The team is looking forward to another meeting at the University of Södertörn at the end of May.