<i>Global Sustainability Crossroads</i>: A Participatory Simulation Game to Educate in the Energy and Sustainability Challenges of the 21st Century

There is a general need to facilitate citizens&#8217; understanding of the global sustainability problem with the dual purpose of raising their awareness of the seriousness of the problem and helping them get closer to understanding the complexity of the solutions. Here, the design and applicati...

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Main Authors: Iñigo Capellán-Pérez, David Álvarez-Antelo, Luis J. Miguel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-07-01
Series:Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/13/3672
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spelling doaj-e5cb0585b54e4a6dae87f14daeac36df2020-11-24T21:28:36ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502019-07-011113367210.3390/su11133672su11133672<i>Global Sustainability Crossroads</i>: A Participatory Simulation Game to Educate in the Energy and Sustainability Challenges of the 21st CenturyIñigo Capellán-Pérez0David Álvarez-Antelo1Luis J. Miguel2Research Group on Energy, Economy and System Dynamics, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Paseo del Cauce s/n, University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, SpainResearch Group on Energy, Economy and System Dynamics, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Paseo del Cauce s/n, University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, SpainResearch Group on Energy, Economy and System Dynamics, Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales, Paseo del Cauce s/n, University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, SpainThere is a general need to facilitate citizens&#8217; understanding of the global sustainability problem with the dual purpose of raising their awareness of the seriousness of the problem and helping them get closer to understanding the complexity of the solutions. Here, the design and application of the participatory simulation game <i>Global Sustainability Crossroads</i> is described, based on a global state-of-the-art energy&#8722;economy&#8722;environment model, which creates a virtual scenario where the participants are confronted with the design of climate mitigation strategies as well as the social, economic, and environmental consequences of decisions. The novelty of the game rests on the global scope and the representation of the drivers of anthropogenic emissions within the MEDEAS-World model, combined with a participatory simulation group dynamic flexible enough to be adapted to a diversity of contexts and participants. The performance of 13 game workshops with ~420 players has shown it has a significant pedagogical potential: the game is able to generate discussions on crucial topics which are usually outside the public realm such as the relationship between economic growth and sustainability, the role of technology, how human desires are limited by biophysical constraints or the possibility of climate tipping points.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/13/3672gamificationmodellingclimate changeenvironmental educationparticipatory simulation
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Iñigo Capellán-Pérez
David Álvarez-Antelo
Luis J. Miguel
spellingShingle Iñigo Capellán-Pérez
David Álvarez-Antelo
Luis J. Miguel
<i>Global Sustainability Crossroads</i>: A Participatory Simulation Game to Educate in the Energy and Sustainability Challenges of the 21st Century
Sustainability
gamification
modelling
climate change
environmental education
participatory simulation
author_facet Iñigo Capellán-Pérez
David Álvarez-Antelo
Luis J. Miguel
author_sort Iñigo Capellán-Pérez
title <i>Global Sustainability Crossroads</i>: A Participatory Simulation Game to Educate in the Energy and Sustainability Challenges of the 21st Century
title_short <i>Global Sustainability Crossroads</i>: A Participatory Simulation Game to Educate in the Energy and Sustainability Challenges of the 21st Century
title_full <i>Global Sustainability Crossroads</i>: A Participatory Simulation Game to Educate in the Energy and Sustainability Challenges of the 21st Century
title_fullStr <i>Global Sustainability Crossroads</i>: A Participatory Simulation Game to Educate in the Energy and Sustainability Challenges of the 21st Century
title_full_unstemmed <i>Global Sustainability Crossroads</i>: A Participatory Simulation Game to Educate in the Energy and Sustainability Challenges of the 21st Century
title_sort <i>global sustainability crossroads</i>: a participatory simulation game to educate in the energy and sustainability challenges of the 21st century
publisher MDPI AG
series Sustainability
issn 2071-1050
publishDate 2019-07-01
description There is a general need to facilitate citizens&#8217; understanding of the global sustainability problem with the dual purpose of raising their awareness of the seriousness of the problem and helping them get closer to understanding the complexity of the solutions. Here, the design and application of the participatory simulation game <i>Global Sustainability Crossroads</i> is described, based on a global state-of-the-art energy&#8722;economy&#8722;environment model, which creates a virtual scenario where the participants are confronted with the design of climate mitigation strategies as well as the social, economic, and environmental consequences of decisions. The novelty of the game rests on the global scope and the representation of the drivers of anthropogenic emissions within the MEDEAS-World model, combined with a participatory simulation group dynamic flexible enough to be adapted to a diversity of contexts and participants. The performance of 13 game workshops with ~420 players has shown it has a significant pedagogical potential: the game is able to generate discussions on crucial topics which are usually outside the public realm such as the relationship between economic growth and sustainability, the role of technology, how human desires are limited by biophysical constraints or the possibility of climate tipping points.
topic gamification
modelling
climate change
environmental education
participatory simulation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/13/3672
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