Fife pupils solve international crisis

Over 90 Fife school pupils gathered at the University of St Andrews today (Wednesday 5 March 2014) to resolve an impending crisis in the Middle East.

The young ‘diplomats’ left their Modern Studies class for a day for a day in St Andrews acting as negotiators in a conflict resolution role-play event being organised by the School of International Relations.

During the day, teams from each of the nine schools involved were assigned a country as they contended with a crisis engulfing Iran and its neighbours, drawing in other members of the international community.  They were to decide their country’s negotiating position, make deals with other countries and use political, economic and military options in an attempt to achieve their objectives.

Over four negotiation sessions the participants learned how international crises can be exacerbated and subside, as well as understand the role that the media plays in influencing understanding of global events.  Three different news agencies – BBC, Al-Jazeera and Press TV (Iranian English language state broadcaster) – were represented by St Andrews students.

The event was organised as part of the School of International Relations’ community outreach programme, organised by student volunteers and supported by the University’s Widening Access Team as part of the HSBC funded initiative ‘Living Local Thinking Global’.

It was one of the final events in the four year programme, supported by HSBC’s Global Education Project, which encourages Global Citizenship across Fife. Other activities have included the introduction of an annual cultural exchange project which sees St Andrews students working with primary schools in the local area, teaching the children all about different countries and culture and culminating in community events across Fife showcasing the pupils work.

The schools involved on the day were: Glenrothes High School, Glenwood High School, Kirkcaldy High School, Bell Baxter High School, Kirkland High School, Buckhaven High School, Madras Academy, Viewforth High and Waid Academy.

ENDS

Issued by the University of St Andrews Press Office

Contact:  Emma Shea, Senior Communications Manager, 01334 462 167 or email [email protected]