Practical Activity: Africa in Your Hands!

Project Objective

In the board game 'Africa in Your Hands!', groups must create a 'proto-country' in Africa at the end of the 19th century, in the context of the Berlin Conference (1884-1885), dealing with the challenges of colonialism, neocolonialism, and the quest for independence. The goal is to better understand the meaning of the concepts of State, nation, territory, government, and country as applied to the African reality, as well as to develop technical and socio-emotional skills.

Detailed Project Description

Each group will be responsible for creating a fictional country in Africa. They will have to determine the geographical location, the type of government, the main economic activities, international relations, internal conflicts, and how they dealt with the decolonization process.

Students will research and debate the conditions and challenges faced by African nations during the colonial and post-colonial period. They will simulate negotiations, political and economic decisions, as well as the conflicts and tensions that arose in that context.

The game board will be a map of Africa, and each group will have pieces to represent different aspects of their country (population, natural resources, infrastructure, military strength, etc). There will be cards of historical events that the groups will have to respond to appropriately in order to gain advantages or avoid disadvantages.

Required Materials

1. Map of Africa (printed in large size)
2. Cardboard to make the pieces and historical event cards
3. Colored pens, scissors, and glue for material preparation
4. Books and online sources for research

Detailed Step-by-Step for Activity Execution

1. Divide the class into groups of 3 to 5 students.
2. Choose the geographical location of each group's 'proto-country' on the map of Africa.
3. Conduct research on the history of colonial and post-colonial Africa, focusing on economic, political, and social issues. Each group should focus their research on the geographical context of their 'proto-country'.
4. After the research, each group should create a game plan for their 'proto-country', including summarizing its political, economic, and social situation during the colonial period, and how these conditions affected the struggle for independence and the post-colonial situation.
5. With the plan in hand, the group should create game pieces representing aspects of the 'proto-country' (e.g., population, natural resources, infrastructure, military strength, etc).
6. Next, the group should create historical event cards based on real situations experienced by African nations during the colonization, decolonization, and independence process.
7. Finally, simulate the game and document the process and results obtained.

Project Deliverables and Writing the Written Document

1. Board Game: In addition to playing the game itself, students must document the entire creation process and the established rules, as well as the challenges and decisions made during the gameplay.
2. Research Summary: Groups must present a summary of the research conducted, the context of the 'proto-country', the main challenges faced, and the strategies used to deal with them.
3. Written Report: After completing the game, each group must write a detailed report, divided into Introduction (contextualization of the theme and project objective), Development (theory involved, activity details, and results), Conclusion (lessons learned and conclusions about the project), and the Bibliography used.

The report is the students' chance to demonstrate learning and reflections on the topic in practice. It should be coherent and rounded, with a clear presentation of the objectives, development, conclusions, and bibliography relevant to the project. The writing should be logical, with well-structured and clearly presented ideas, making good use of grammatical and stylistic norms.

This activity brings the advantage of promoting both theoretical knowledge and playful practice, encouraging collaboration, research, and creativity, as well as developing socio-emotional skills such as time management and problem-solving.