Follow-up projects

Human Security in the Times of Climate Changes

The initiative “Human Security in the Age of Climate Change” is a continuation of the student workshop “Human Security and Peacebuilding” conducted by a joint team from the University of Warsaw and Daito Bunka University in July this year in Kyoto, as part of the scientific events accompanying Poland’s participation in the EXPO 2025 World Exhibition in Osaka. On September 19, 2025 the expert seminar Building local societies’ resilience in times of crises: From spontaneous response to structured strategies, organized by the Green Things Matter Platform, Centre for Europe, Department of Japanese Studies (Faculty of Asian and African Cultures) UW and Daito Bunka University, was held at the University of Warsaw as part of the above project. This initiative resulted in the development of the concept of the Clean Source simulation game, which supports the process of teaching mechanisms of prevention and management in cases of natural disasters, including environmental pollution. Safe Decisions, an educational and operational mobile application project was also initiated – used to prepare people to respond to crisis situations in conditions of limited access to information.

The Safe Decisions mobile application is intended to educate and prepare the user in the occurrence of a threat (the “Prepare Yourself” / pre-crisis mode), as well as offer support during the crisis (the “Crisis” mode). It is intended to help users make fast, informed decisions during natural disasters and man-made threats (e.g. territorial aggression, infrastructure failures, contamination), especially under conditions involving the lack of communication. This is done, for example, by using the exercise mode, which is equipped with short scenarios simulating different types of threats.

Clean Source strategy game

Environmental crises, especially those related to water and air pollution, are among the most complex challenges of modern societies. Their impacts are both local and global, including public health, social trust and institutional stability. The Clean Source strategy game is a response to the need to develop crisis management tools that will allow representatives of institutions, non-governmental organizations or communities not only to understand the mechanisms of response, but also to experience them through decisions made in conditions of uncertainty. Such tools enable scenario planning and building social trust through better communication between citizens, local governments and central authorities. In order to effectively address crises and strengthen societal resilience, an approach based solely on crisis management should be transformed into structural solutions, developing from a strategic approach to security and prevention. In other words, ad hoc responses must be replaced by sustainable mechanisms for building preparedness and resilience.

The aim of the project is to develop all participants’ awareness of the complexity of infrastructure systems and the interconnections between individual decisions and the functioning of public institutions. Through the experience of simulated deficits, participants learn to understand crisis management mechanisms, the importance of cooperation, and the limitations and possibilities of actions taken within different levels of the social system. The Clean Source project shows that simulation games can be not only a teaching tool, but also a research method and a means of strengthening social resilience. This game can also serve as an intercultural laboratory. Joint simulation sessions for participants from Poland and Japan allow us to analyze the differences in, as a few examples, the perception of authority, responsibility, and decision-making processes. In the Clean Source simulation game, sample interactions are tested, taking into account institutional (systemic approach) and individual variants, allowing for the analysis of population behavior and planning the authorities’ actions in an emergency crisis situation.

This project has been supported by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) under the DIRECT TO EXPO 2025 programme – the International Academic Event at World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai (BPI/OSA/2024/1/00020/DEC/01.