FAQ's
Q: What does Akwaaba mean?
A: In the West African language of Twi (pronounced "chwee"), akwaaba means "welcome."
Q: How did the foundation get started and why?
A: The Akwaaba Foundation was incorporated as a California non-profit educational foundation in 2007. It was started to help students around the world learn how to make good decisions that will ultimately create an environment of sustainability and peace. The Foundation came about after Denney Daetz developed and used an educational simulation called SIMPOLICON© in his high school classroom for 25 years. His students showed great enthusiasm when participating in the simulation, and over the years, Daetz has been encouraged by numerous students, parents, colleagues, and business people to make SIMPOLICON© accessible on the Web for students around the world. With their help, The Akwaaba Foundation was born.
Q: What is SIMPOLICON© ?
A: SIMPOLICON© is a computer simulation where students act as leaders of different nations around the world. Their objective is to develop their nation in sustainable ways. During the simulation, each country uses its natural resources for development and/or international trade. The students feed their citizens, provide them with education of various levels, develop agriculture, manufacture necessary products, build national infrastructure projects (such as power, transportation, and information systems), and conduct international trade. Throughout the simulation, students interact with each other, as they would if they were actual national leaders. Sometimes they develop coalitions; sometimes they declare war on other countries; and sometimes the pollution they produce is so great that the world suffers, and then they must deal with that outcome in a responsible manner. Nearly every “real-world” scenario that can be imagined has occurred during and at the simulation over the 25 years it has been used in high school classrooms. At the end of the simulation, there are debriefing sessions, usually conducted by a teacher/facilitator for the purpose of examining lessons learned and opportunities missed.
Q: When did Daetz create SIMPOLICON© and why?
A: Daetz's inspiration began during the time he served in the Peace Corps (1968 - 1971) in Ghana, West Africa. During this time he taught in the classroom and saw great potential in students, but because they were living in a third world country, they had little or no opportunity to benefit personally, or to allow the world to benefit from their intellect and capabilities. In 1979, a few years after returning from Ghana, Daetz's began developing idea became SIMPOLICON©: Simulation of Political and Economic Development©.
Q: Q: Is Simpolicon available in other languages?
A: Yes. It has been fully translated into Spanish.