Creativity

World café around a case study

Based on a real case study (e.g. Maracaibo, Venezuela), identify strategies to ensure access to water for all. There are districts that receive water every 20 to 25 days, but other districts have not received water for 3 months, 6 months or even a year. In addition, the lake water is polluted and causes diseases.

  1. Read a text (or video reportage – RTS, Tout un monde, 29.11.2019)
  2. Highlight the problems of the city
  3. Brainstorm around possible solutions along the world-café method:
    • Separate the class around three tables where three types of solutions will be discussed: technical, political, economic
    • Each 7 to 10 minutes, the groups mingle. One person, the host, remains at the table and summarizes the discussions held to the new group
    • After three shifts, the whole class goes through all three tables, a short summary being given by the host.
  4. In groups of four, formulate some proposals to guarantee access to water
  5. Identify the conditions for implementation (or the first steps).

Reflection on gender using pictures:
Technique used: group discussion about pictures
Materials required: Pictures collected from magazines, newspapers or taken from the street by smartphone that represent different types of situations – family life, working life, sports, arts where evidences of gender differences could be identified.
Group discussion to analyse pictures exploring examples of gender imbalance/bias and think about the possibility of introducing changes to address this.

Group work. In groups of 3-4 investigate innovative forms of education, teaching and learning from a holistic perspective, i.e. include students’ academic, social, cultural and physical development and consider the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainability.
Draw a flipchart where you present your findings to the class. Discuss the various ideas presented and think of the possibilities and what it would take to implement these ideas.

Students consider others in their school or environment that need support. Students work in groups and develop ideas that will help. The groups present their ideas. All the ideas are discussed and analysed on the basis of specific indicators (not labelling, feasible to apply, time needed, benefits for all). Students decide which ideas are appropriate and develop a timeline plan, having identifying the steps needed, for their implementation.

General idea: to find and analyse innovations that can be effective tools to end hunger – or have already come to fruition in the last decade.
Clarifying the concept of innovation, making high scores for the hottest innovators based on different criteria.
Planning and justifying innovation awards.

Game-example: Mission 1.5

Mission 1.5, which launched worldwide on February 13, 2020, will give them a direct way to communicate to their governments the change they want to see.
The campaign is based around a mobile game that educates people about climate policy and provides a platform for them to vote on the solutions they want to see happen. The votes will then be compiled and analysed by researchers at the University of Oxford before being delivered to government leaders and climate policymakers.

The game, developed by UNDP with partners, was beta-tested in September 2019 and 1.25 million players voted. It is launching in all six of the UN’s official languages, and more languages will be added as the campaign progresses throughout the year.

Mission 1.5 uses mobile gaming technology in an entirely new way. Instead of just a website, the game is delivered through ads in some of the most popular video games in the world.

Students research policies and manifestos for political parties in their countries. In what way does each party propose to end poverty, in their own country and worldwide.

Students consider:

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Draw a line (a transect) across a map of the local area between two safe and accessible points – the length of line will depend on the amount of time available. This is the route of your walk. Now plan the walk taking care to avoid hazards and private property while staying as close to the straight line as possible.

Take the class on the walk along the route you have planned together and look for examples or evidence of situations where an improvement might be made. After the walk, ask the class to work in small groups and think of as many ideas as possible for adding new value to their locality.

A more random version would be to ask students to explore an area and take photographs using a smartphone to show their evidence. This puts them in charge but can also reduce the level of creativity required to come up with ideas.

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Need for:

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Note how creative we become after the first five ‘usual ideas’ have been suggested!