On April 27, we had an opportunity, in collaboration with International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), to conduct a hybrid event on the largest scale in the history of our organisation. It took place during the “Science advice under pressure” conference organised by Science Advice For Policy By European Academies (SAPEA) on behalf of the Scientific Advice Mechanism. The “Interactive policy simulation” panel was hosted simultaneously in two formats – face-to-face in Brussels (by Piotr Magnuszewski) and online (by Michalina Kułakowska).

The session started with a short presentation by Piotr, who explained what social simulation is and why it can be a useful tool, especially in the context of the most pressing challenges in today’s world. After the introduction, participants got acquainted with the virtual world of 2026, which is haunted by natural disasters that are ruining crops and causing related crises, including supply chain disruptions, social protests, and migration. As members of the Emergency Summit on the Future of Food in Brussels, the simulation participants were tasked with voting on the proposed policies and creating their own ones to prevent further escalation of the crises.

During the event, the participants were able to enter the virtual world through an app while remaining in touch with each other on Zoom. When both face-to-face and online simulation sessions were finished, the participants had the opportunity to share their opinion on the topic and the tool we’d created.

In total, about 150 people took part in the event, which was a positive surprise to our team. We heard many voices of appreciation, both from the participants and the organisers of the event.

You can explore the materials prepared for the simulation on this website: engage.socialsimulations.org/sapea-intro.

The simulation was created as part of the “CASCADES – Cascading climate risks: Towards adaptive and resilient European Societies” project, which was funded through the EU Horizon 2020 programme.

Photo:

© SAPEA 2022 on behalf of the Scientific Advice Mechanism

© SAPEA 2022. The photographer is Sophie Lenoir