Ysa Chandna
Crisis Simulation
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar held a conflict resolution and negotiation simulation titled “Afghanistan in 2015: Chaos in Kabul.” The simulation, organized in conjunction with Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) in Washington, D.C., included 25 student participants from the Georgetown Qatar and D.C. campuses, the Academic Bridge Program, as well as local high school students. Canadian Head of Mission to Qatar, Gary Luton, played the role of UN Secretary General in the exercise.
“It’s always useful for practitioners to engage with students on important issues, and to hear their opinions on and reactions to some of the international community’s most vital concerns,” said Luton.
The exercise, a blend of real-world events and fictional elements that help facilitate learning objectives, was designed to help students think about and experience domestic and international efforts towards reconstruction and development after international military forces have pulled out of a country, the power struggle within Afghanistan in particular, and how the UN, foreign governments, the Afghan government, tribal leaders and the Taliban can interact constructively.
Students received a set of “confidential” instructions outlining each team’s initial position on developing a road map for Afghan reconstruction and development several days before the simulation began. During the simulation, students engaged in a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings which culminated in a final session presided by the UN Secretary General, played by the Canadian Head of Mission to Qatar, Gary Luton.
“The value of simulations for students studying international affairs, is that they get to immerse themselves in very difficult topics and learn about the subject matter. They then get to play the role of the people in the real world who are trying to do something about that crisis,” said Jim Seevers, the ISD’s Director of Studies and Training who created the exercise in conjunction with ISD Associate Lt. Colonel Mike Shortsleeve. “The students love the process of actually being the negotiator. When you’re being asked, not just to understand a subject, but to negotiate with a party that you know has a different view, you begin to see issues from different parties’ perspectives,” added Seevers.
During the exercise, students formed several teams representing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the United States, the People’s Republic of China, and the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. A “control room” of faculty and policy practitioners played the role of the Afghan Tribal Leaders and ISAF/NATO.
Ysa Chandna, a Georgetown University student, commented, “Crisis Simulation is perhaps the best thing at Georgetown University; this is my third time taking part in it and I’m very glad I did because I learned a lot from it.”.
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Ysa Chandna
Crisis Simulation
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar held a conflict resolution and negotiation simulation titled “Afghanistan in 2015: Chaos in Kabul.” The simulation, organized in conjunction with Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) in Washington, D.C., included 25 student participants from the Georgetown Qatar and D.C. campuses, the Academic Bridge Program, as well as local high school students. Canadian Head of Mission to Qatar, Gary Luton, played the role of UN Secretary General in the exercise.
“It’s always useful for practitioners to engage with students on important issues, and to hear their opinions on and reactions to some of the international community’s most vital concerns,” said Luton.
The exercise, a blend of real-world events and fictional elements that help facilitate learning objectives, was designed to help students think about and experience domestic and international efforts towards reconstruction and development after international military forces have pulled out of a country, the power struggle within Afghanistan in particular, and how the UN, foreign governments, the Afghan government, tribal leaders and the Taliban can interact constructively.
Students received a set of “confidential” instructions outlining each team’s initial position on developing a road map for Afghan reconstruction and development several days before the simulation began. During the simulation, students engaged in a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings which culminated in a final session presided by the UN Secretary General, played by the Canadian Head of Mission to Qatar, Gary Luton.
“The value of simulations for students studying international affairs, is that they get to immerse themselves in very difficult topics and learn about the subject matter. They then get to play the role of the people in the real world who are trying to do something about that crisis,” said Jim Seevers, the ISD’s Director of Studies and Training who created the exercise in conjunction with ISD Associate Lt. Colonel Mike Shortsleeve. “The students love the process of actually being the negotiator. When you’re being asked, not just to understand a subject, but to negotiate with a party that you know has a different view, you begin to see issues from different parties’ perspectives,” added Seevers.
During the exercise, students formed several teams representing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the United States, the People’s Republic of China, and the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. A “control room” of faculty and policy practitioners played the role of the Afghan Tribal Leaders and ISAF/NATO.
Ysa Chandna, a Georgetown University student, commented, “Crisis Simulation is perhaps the best thing at Georgetown University; this is my third time taking part in it and I’m very glad I did because I learned a lot from it.”.
.
.
.
.
Ysa Chandna