On the 2nd of May, the Global Studies department held a workshop for students from the MA programs in International Studies and Global Area Studies. Under the headline The Practice of Climate Governance: Negotiating the Bridgetown Initiative in Global Institutions, students were asked to roleplay as climate negotiators based on research into the Bridgetown Initiative as proposed by Barbados’ prime minister, Mia Mottley, at the COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh on November 7th, 2022.

The Bridgetown Initiative has been a key agenda and point of discussion in global climate policy since it was proposed at COP 27. At its core is the goal of securing climate finance for the most vulnerable countries in the world. Mixing climate financial and justice perspectives, the initiative has been a rallying point for many Global South countries but has also been taken up by transnational NGOs and civil society groups, as well as some acceptance among the countries of the Global North.

The aim of the workshop was to help students get a deeper understanding of the issues and contestations at the heart of climate governance, by getting into this key new agenda. The workshop consisted of an assignment following three steps.

First, students were asked to research the Bridgetown Initiative within the relevant landscape of global governance. Central questions were: Where, when and by whom was the idea discussed? Who supports it? Who remains more silent? By answering such questions, students got an overview of the initiative and its placement within global climate governance.

Second, students were assigned a region or country whose perspectives and positions on the matter they would present at the final debate. This step was all about getting into what the initiative meant for specific global actors and understand what was at stake for them. If assigned India for example, students would need to dig into India’s official positions on the matter, as well as understand their role in global negotiations and what they might seek to get out of negotiations – both officially and behind closed doors.

Finally, based on these initial research steps students were asked to prepare a presentation for the final debate. Presenting their country or region, they would lay down their arguments and represent their interests within the context of global climate governance. Students would get to both present their own country’s perspective and then listen to other countries’, getting a glimpse at what negotiation of climate governance looks like at the global level.

The result was a task that helped students of both MA programs better link their theoretical and academic knowledge to the real life problems and practices of global governance. Such a task will help students better reflect on the links between theory and practice, as well as give them important transferable skills within the field of climate negotiation in particular and negotiation skills in general.

Just before the Easter Break, our second-semester students from the Japan Studies program had a somewhat unorthodox oral exam. In what has become an annual tradition, the students performed roleplays that they had written themselves.

There were four groups in total, with genres ranging from horror to fairy tale and topics such as online dating and the Japanese tradition of Setsubun, where people chase away demons by throwing beans at them. The audience of Japan Studies teachers and students, as well as Japanese exchange students, were thoroughly entertained and impressed with the performances.

Thank you to the students for their hard work and great performances! 

The project “Coercive and Emotional Diplomacy in East Asia: Japanese Responses” held its second workshop online on Friday, the 19th.

The workshop was dedicated to discussing what has been written so far through constructive feedback and comments, as well as further reflecting on how the projects will fit together for our special issue.

Thank you to all of the participants for many great discussions! Take a look at the project on our Homepage at http://globalstudies.dk/emotional-diplomacy-east-asia/.

On November 22nd, the third semester Japanese Studies students hosted a wonderful cooking event for the purpose of social and cultural exchange. The students invited current exchange students from Japan, as well as their professors and assistant teachers. 

The participants formed groups to try their hand at making delicious dishes, both from Japan and Denmark, which they then got to eat. After dinner, everyone participated in exciting party games and activities.  

Thank you to the Japanese Studies students for organizing and hosting such a great event!