The setting of the simulation game was the annual meeting 2018 of the regional economic union “Organization for Regional Integration in Omaria (ORIO)”. Disagreements about the future of the organization were marking a crucial moment of its history as inner conflicts broke out on numerous topics. Since its foundation the organization had a strong focus on economic development with the final vision of eventually creating a common market. In the course of its existence the wish for an advanced integration in other thematic fields occurred.
Thus, the task for the young diplomats was to debate topics related to the economic and political integration of the regional organization ORIO. The main topics of discussion were: democratic standards and supranational institutions; the freedom of movement and the wish for an increased cooperation concerning common challenges such as adaption to climate change.
Through the simulation, the participants gained an insight in the working methods of a regional organization as well as the main challenges of a possible reform. Each participant had to represent a country and his or her interest in the debate on the different topics. Following the internal negotiations, the countries, under the supervision of two moderators, tried to come up with proposal on each issues.
After the game an evaluation took part, in which the participants were able to reflect about the process and their learning outcomes. These included an improvement of their negotiation skills as well as a deeper understanding of the common challenges countries face in the context of economic and political regional integration.
