Activity 1: Designing the online program (animations, graphics, slides, activities (e.g. proposed national security and defense simulations), quizzes, and teaching guides for independent delivery).
The program included the following sessions:
- NATO and the promotion of democracy (1h) — summary of NATO’s evolution, its role as a guardian of democracy and the rules-based international order
- NATO Members, decision-making procedures, and accountability (1 hour) — decision-making within the Alliance, shared responsibility and structure of the Alliance.
- Crisis Management (1h) — covering NATO’s past interventions and response in the case of attacks on a member state, as per Article 5 and the collective defence principle
- NATO and Public Diplomacy (1h) — NATO’s public diplomacy mandate, its promotion of the rule of law, nuclear arms control, individual freedoms and human rights
- Disinformation (1h) — addressing the recent hostile information threats faced by NATO states, using examples such as the 2017 NotPetya attacks on Ukraine
- Mock global crisis simulation and NATO response (3h):
- 1h to review how NATO operates, students will be assigned one of the 30 member state countries and review positions and ideas
- 2h: Each student will represent one of the 30 member states and will respond to a global crisis scenario based on the knowledge acquired in the course on decision-making and procedures. Crisis examples include: a military attack on one of the Alliance members, an epidemic threatening NATO member states, or a coordinated cyber attack
The course and surveys were made publicly accessible on our E-portal, where 1,000+ secondary schools & colleges and 10 universities from our network across the UK could access them.
Activity 2: To further increase the project’s impact, the SOUK team directly delivered the NATO course to 100-150 secondary school students offline.
SOUK delivered to 3 secondary schools, engaging 122 young people aged 15-19 via in-person delivery.
- New College Leicester (Leicester)
- Copthall School (Barnet- London)
- Ormiston bushfield Academy (Peterborough)
- Sandwell Valley School (Birmingham)
Feedback from teachers and students participating in the course
New College Leicester, Leicester
“The NATO course delivered by Connie and Ollie provided an outstanding learning opportunity for young people. Not only did students understand more about the work of NATO but they were transported out of the classroom with skilful questioning and engaged in a simulation of real world decision making. It was a joy to watch students argue with each other, defending their resolution decisions, to watch previously shy young people get up on stage to present their views with consideration and conviction.
The final workshop [simulation] also provided opportunities for students to work as a team, again this was powerful to see them own their political space, to argue their position as a NATO country and really start to develop an understanding of the complexities of governance. You could see they actually cared and considered their countries best interests. I will be able to use this experience as a point of reference for them to help them develop deeper knowledge of global politics.” – Sera Shortland, Head of Citizenship New college Leicester
Students:
Ayub (Year 10) “ The final session helped us to get a bigger perspective of the world and I really enjoyed debating with people I don’t normally talk to.”
Lukasz (Year 10) “ I really enjoyed the course because now I understand how hard it really is for NATO and other organisations to decide on one decision”
Annabelle (Year 10) “ I want to say thank you for teaching me more about the world, I wish I had spoken more but it gave me confidence to try it next time”
Abhedika (Year 10) “The idea of discussing about NATO was itself amazing, while I learned a lot about the countries and their economy and military power. The way the representatives of NATO presented the questions was excellent as they explained in a way which made me really think. Thank you”
Copthall School, Barnet, London
Students:
“It was a very interesting course where we were able to learn about the purpose of NATO. As part of this, we took part in a politically charged debate around a simulation, we challenged and supported each other as representatives of a country. This was a unique opportunity to improve our social and political skills and learn more about current world issues.”
Activity 3: Production of 5 podcast episodes with media literacy and defence experts, explaining NATO’s roles and responsibilities, and its position as a guardian of democratic values
5 Podcast episodes with media literacy and defence experts. We published the podcasts on the following accounts:
- Shout Out UK’s main website
https://www.shoutoutuk.org/category/education/media-minded-podcast/
- Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/3TZpIkHyNf3mSVBEr9LrAy
- Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/media-minded-by-shoutout-uk/id1366046821
- TuneIn
https://tunein.com/podcasts/News–Politics-Podcasts/Media-Minded-by-ShoutOut-UK-p1324125/
5 x 10-minute excerpts with key highlights from each episode, which will be integrated into the NATO course
We developed 10 minute excerpts of the podcast and included this within the course, both on the E-portal and with the offline delivery conducted in schools.
Animations:
We have finished and completed the following animations and have embedded the animations on Vimeo.
- NATO and the promotion of democracy
- NATO Members, decision-making, procedures, and accountability
- NATO Crisis Management
- NATO and Public Diplomacy
Below you can find VIMEO links to access all of our animations. We have removed the passwords, as teachers in British schools often have Youtube blocked.
Who are NATO? from Shout Out UK on Vimeo.
Structure and Process of NATO from Shout Out UK on Vimeo.
Crisis management and NATO from Shout Out UK on Vimeo.
Cyberspace and Impact of cyber attacks: NATO from Shout Out UK on Vimeo.
