The ANVISA class students of FGV’s Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (EBAPE) won the “Naspaa-Batten Student Simulation Competition” held on February 23 at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas- División de Administración Pública, in Mexico City. The international competition – which features a participatory simulation designed specifically for the event – focused on the issues of forced migration and refugees. The students of the Master’s in Public Administration (MAP) of EBAPE had to solve some of main problems currently faced by countries around the world, such as governments’ reaction to an influx of refugees seeking asylum, adoption of policies to integrate refugees into society, and the obstacles and benefits of taking in people in these conditions.

“We were very pleased with the news, especially due to the international relevance and esteem of an accreditation institute like NASPAA in the field of education for the public sector, as well as the performance of our students, which reinforces the commitment of MAP and EBAPE towards academic excellence in educating future leaders in Public Administration”, said the accreditation coordinator and EBAPE professor, Yuna Fontoura.

According to her, participating in a competition that discusses the issue of refugees is very important, since there is no quick and immediate solution to such a complex issue, which impacts the economy, politics, international relations, culture, companies and laws of different countries, among several other aspects.

“Amidst this global crisis regarding refugees, we can either stand aside and blame the countries and governments from which these people are coming, or even a specific organization (criminal or not), or we can take action and come up with solutions. This action is built over the notion of shared responsibility among countries that are committed to global causes, recognizing situations of massive inequality, extreme poverty and humanitarian crises as part of the problem that plagues and shames all of us as human beings, and which must be addressed seriously and responsibly through a joint effort, beyond any single country’s borders”, said the professor.

According to MAP student Isabella Silva Di Jorge Portella Valderrama, the competition creates an important venue to share public management experiences among students from all over the world. She adds that EBAPE’s victory in the competition goes to show that Brazilian civil servants are better prepared to take on the global challenges of public administration. She also said that participating in a competition like this one is a transforming experience.

“Since I work in an area that faces the challenge of cross-border efforts, like my project, this interaction and simulation are crucial to promote a broader and more realistic overview of the world. It was a transforming experience”, said the student, who works for the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA).

Professor Yuna Fontoura agrees entirely. According to her, this NASPAA event is much more than a mere “competition”, since it enables participants to create, share knowledge in public management, and develop solutions and ideas through a diverse selection of high-performance teams.

“Valuing teams with members from different countries reinforces the importance of a qualified approach to complex solutions. In addition, it underlines the importance of considering the social, cultural, political and economic context when applying any public management theory”, she said.

Another MAP student and ANVISA employee among the winning team, Raquel Pereira Guimarães, explained that the competition was very important for students from different institutions and countries to share experiences and ideas.

“The simulation allowed us to address public policy issues and diplomatic conflicts, helping us prepare for actual day-to-day challenges. For me, the biggest challenge was the language barrier. There were only three Brazilians in the competition, and everyone else spoke Spanish. So, our group and the Mexican students spoke in English all day long. This was very helpful for our communication and our oral presentation”, she said.