Bringing Human Rights in the Digital Age together through play

The context

Human Rights in the Digital Age: Reconsidering Impact explores how human rights and ethical principles can be embedded in data practices, taking into account their impact on society. Students work with concepts such as privacy, fairness, justice and non-discrimination, while learning to assess concrete data practices against legal and ethical requirements and consider how these practices can be redesigned responsibly.

The game was used as a closing activity, bringing together some of the issues students had explored throughout the course.

The session in action

Students played UnExpected Values: The Free Market for about one hour, followed by a 15-minute reflection. Taking on the roles of CEOs, they made decisions in a competitive market while balancing profit against ethical and social responsibility.

The role-play helped students experience some of the tensions discussed in the course. As they tried to win the game, they often found themselves choosing the more profitable option, even when they recognised that the ethical choice was more responsible. This opened up discussion about how financial and organisational pressures can affect decisions with implications for human rights, including fairness, justice and privacy.

The outcome

Students had fun and were highly engaged throughout the session. They debated and challenged each other's choices and found the experience interesting and motivating. The reflection allowed them to connect their decisions in the game to the broader course themes and consider how human rights and ethical principles can come under pressure within real-world systems.

The teacher felt the game was a particularly good fit for the course and plans to use it as a regular activity. A copy of UnExpected Values was provided to the teacher for future use.

Educator takeaway

The game offered a practical way to bring together the legal, ethical and societal dimensions of the course. By experiencing these tensions through role-play and simulation, students could reflect not only on individual choices, but also on how systems and incentives shape decision-making.