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Simulación del Parlamento Andaluz
Simulación del Parlamento Andaluz
Start date: Sep 1, 2014,
End date: Aug 31, 2015
PROJECT
FINISHED
The Simulation of the Parliament of Andalusia is a role-play event in which 120 students perform throughout five days the role of MP?s. The main aim of this initiative is for these students to get to know first-hand the functioning of democratic institutions by performing as the MP?s of the five simulated political parties, which would proportionally reflect the current political ideologies represented in the Parliament of Andalusia.
It is interesting to highlight that the participants would not be representing the political party which ideology is similar to their own one. Instead, a random distribution would take place in order to put themselves in the place of others, increasing their appreciation and respect towards other people?s views and ideologies. In other words, this role-play would help the participants to increase their level of empathy towards those who think differently.
As part of the role-play, 5 laws would be under debate in the Simulation. Generally speaking, those laws would be focusing on current political affairs. The laws would be debated in the Plenary as well as in the Commissions.
Furthermore, encounters between the participants and current or former political representatives would take place. The main goal of this activity is for the representatives to share with the participants their experiences through dialogue. In this way, participants can be proactive and get to know better the current political situation by asking as many questions as they consider appropriate. In addition, participants could also attend training sessions in the afternoon which would be provided by experts in politics and communication.
As part of the Simulation, a Press Office would be set up and it would be coordinated by a group of students (those enrolled on the Degree of Journalism). The Press Office would have two functions; the external function would be focused on promoting the event in the different media available, as well as promoting the attendance of those political representatives who would participate in the Simulation. In regards to the internal function of the Press Office, it would consist of the drafting, editing and publication of the daily newspaper of the Simulation. Overall, this newspaper would inform daily about what is happening in the core of the Simulation, influencing in this way its agenda and the political debate within the Chamber.
In addition, a magazine resuming the activities of the Simulation would be released on the last day. Each participant would be entitled to take a copy, which would lead to a further promotion of the event once they get back to their Universities or Institutions they belong to.
In conclusion, this initiative is aimed at ?learning as they play?. Through the role-play they would learn how the democratic institutions and the political system work, they would increase their knowledge in regards to current political affairs as they debate them, and most importantly, they would understand the importance of respecting other peoples? views by being in somebody else?s position.
Considering the current distant relationship between citizens and politics or politicians in general, this Simulation appears to be a great chance for some students to get to know first-hand how our contemporary politics operates.