Learning how to govern in Thailand Questions about democracy in Thailand have been hitting the headlines recently. Learning World explores how one project aims to help students understand governance. Political changes have made many to have doubts about what democracy is all about. At a school near Bangkok a board game called Sim Democracy was launched with the ambitious aim of teaching children how to run a government in a democratic society. “Democracy is not something you can only learn from books. It’s like a lifestyle, they have to experience it. They can understand it so I started to have an idea of simulating a country under a democratic system and let the students learn to experience it,” explains the game’s creator, Ruttikorn Vuttikorn. The Friedrich Naumann Foundation has teamed up with the Election Commission of Thailand to introduce the Sim Democracy game into educational workshops at over 200 high-schools and universities across the country. In the game, the board represents a country and is divided into four sectors – hospitals, schools, forests and police stations, which represent public health, education, environment and security. To start the game, each of four teams runs a brief election campaign to decide who will govern. After playing the game, students examine their performance. The more they play, the greater the understanding they have of the game. “Sim Democracy” continuously receives interest from educators in the region. It is now adapted for universities in Malaysia and South Asia.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 08:20:52 +0000
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