To introduce us to the Utopia project we read the book “The Giver”. Which introduced the idea of a so-called perfect world or Utopia. This book helped me create a Utopia because it acted as a guideline on how not to run things in a society. Using this idea, I created a Utopia that allowed people to have freedom of choice, to be able to feel emotions and live in a society that is sustainable.
Another key part of this project was practicing public speaking. In English we become competent about the different parts of public speaking. For example, we learnt about PVLEGS (poise, voice, life, eye contact, gestures, and speed) and how to implement that into out speeches to make it more intriguing, engaging, and interesting. In this speech my group and I talked about the sustainability, liveability, civics and citizenship aspects of Utopia. We were able to explain all the concepts of our Utopia clearly with the help of visual aids. E.g. we referred to our physical model as much as possible that way the audience could see what we were talking about. I did well in using effective body language and I spoke confidently throughout my whole speech, while also being organised and elaborating with detail. I could personally work on improving my collaboration with my teammates by also referring to them for extra support. I should also give everyone the opportunity to talk and say their opinion on a topic that way the work would be shared, and everyone has an equal amount to say. I will use this project as lesson to further my skills in public speaking.
In Humanities I studied the liveability factors and how they are important in keeping a society appealing for everyone. In creating my Utopia, I was able to establish a stable community that incorporated the improvement of environmental quality and access to healthcare and education. For example, I had a large open area to help maintain the nature and minimise disruption to the native environment of animal and plant habitat. We also had two different medical hospitals to ensure that there was sufficient access to health care for the community. The hospitals were situated on both sides of my Utopia to ensure immediate access for emergency incidents. I am happy that I was able to include at least two of the liveability factors into my utopia. Next time I would incorporate additional detail on infrastructure as I now have a greater understanding of the value of Infrastructure in my Utopia.
We created a written constitution for our Utopia. Which outlined the rules and rights for all citizens of our Utopia. For example, one of the rights for the people is healthcare, shelter, and education. I learnt about the different forms of government and which type was the most beneficial for my Utopia. My group decided to make our Utopia a Republic because it included a democracy, aristocracy, and a monarchy. I found this aspect the most difficult because I was not familiar with any of the topics in this unit. But it served as a good learning experience.
In Science we made a sustainable house to learn about renewable energy sources. By learning about sustainable houses, I was able to understand the strategies that people use to keep their house sustainable. For example, my houses included solar panels as well as water efficient shower heads and toilets. We used this knowledge to make all buildings clean and sustainable in our utopia to benefit both the people and the environment. As well as creating a physical model we also studied what renewable energy sources are and how they are vital in generating enough energy for a place. In my Utopia I added wind turbines, this way my utopia will be run off mostly clean energy. I would’ve have liked to add more renewable energy sources like hydropower. Using these renewable sources, it would help decrease pollution. Learning about sustainability and renewable energy sources helped me to recognize the importance it has in a Utopia.
One benefit of our Utopia project was researching the global sustainable development goals. My group earned two accreditations which were for healthcare and wellbeing; justice, peace, and strong institutions. Healthcare and wellbeing describe your physical health as well as your mental health. Peace, justice, and strong institutions is a society that promotes peacefulness, has justice for all and has strong institutions that can provide rule of laws and can support economic growth. Gathering all the information that I researched on these topics I was able to create a utopia that had a stable government as well as good healthcare for the people. I would have liked to achieve another accreditation for sustainable cities and communities (goal 11). This way I could gain an understanding in what strategies I could use to make my Utopia more sustainable. Before this project I had very little knowledge of what the global goals were but by having accreditations, I was able to learn each goal.
Apart from exploring these topics my group and I created a physical representation of what we wanted our Utopia to look like. In science we had built the sustainable houses, so to incorporate that into our final product we based all our houses off our sustainable house. While building, I enjoyed making the paper plane for our airport because it required precision to make a complex design. This hard work payed off after all during the showcase I received many compliments on this model. The statue in our Utopia was the one thing that made our model unique and different. What I could have improved on was adding more detail to each of our buildings that way people could visualise what it might look like. I would have also liked to make trees and place them in the green areas of our Utopia, that way it would emphasise how much nature and open space we have available to the public. The building was a fun and enjoyable part of Project Utopia.
I discovered that my group and I can collaborate well if we put some effort into organising each of our tasks. During every Innovated session we would plan what task we want to achieve that lesson that way we have a small goal to work towards. My group and I tried to split the work as evenly as possible that way no one did more work. This process turned out to be an efficient and systematic way to complete our work. In the future I try to develop my skills in leadership, self-awareness, and resilience that way I will be helpful teammate for my group.
