Bolles upper school students taking Advanced Global Leadership participated in a multiplayer game based on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on May 3 in the Chahlavi Center for Global Learning and Engagement on the Bolles Upper School San Jose Campus.
Led by Bolles Director of Global Learning and Engagement Natalia Aycart, this immersive experience challenged students to co-create a sustainable world in 2030. The players drew cards with various goals, from acquiring wealth and enjoying leisure to ending poverty and protecting the environment. This set the stage for the students to simulate a diverse group of people with different values – just like in the real world. Participants also used magnets on a whiteboard throughout the gameplay to monitor the condition of their world, with blue standing for the economy, green for the environment and yellow for society.
Aycart said the exercise provided her students with a tangible understanding of how individual actions can impact the future and revealed the importance of intercultural communication skills.
“By simplifying complex issues to an accessible level, the game sparked curiosity and enabled students to easily comprehend intricate concepts,” Aycart said. “Moreover, it offered a valuable opportunity for students to apply their classroom learning in a real-world context, fostering practical skills and reinforcing the importance of global citizenship.”
Throughout the course, Advanced Global Leadership students have covered many lessons, including:
- identifying which cultural factors shape human behavior,
- discovering how to become an efficient cross-cultural leader,
- exploring what cross-cultural leadership skills are needed to lead a global team in the future
- and learning how to work collaboratively within a culturally diverse team.
Students interested in getting involved with the Bolles Global Learning and Engagement program can find events on the department’s online calendar. #BollesGlobal