Research report

August 2005
Ben Williamson, Futurelab

The full version of this report is available to download in pdf format - see box below. On this page you'll find the report's executive summary.

Executive summary

The World Power League project set out to explore the possibility of creating a web application that would allow young people to engage with issues of power, citizenship and politics. It was intended to support the development of their active participation as citizens. A literature survey identified the need for the system to make users feel that they have a 'voice' and that their views 'count'; to allow them to appreciate others' perspectives, values and beliefs; and to identify how power, politics and citizenship acts take place in local communities as well as nationally and internationally.

The project has led to the development of the World Power League, a prototype web-based application created in late spring and early summer 2005. It allows users to cast votes in a series of 'duels': two people are randomly selected from a database, and users have to vote for which they feel ought to have more power. The results of voting are automatically arrangement hierarchically in the league itself, allowing users to see the results of group voting, and to see if their votes match up with the overall tally. They can also then nominate themselves as candidates in the league by drafting a manifesto, identifying issues related to power, politics and citizenship that they would like to change, and submitting it to the system.

Trials of the application took place at two school sites in summer 2005. Students were generally engaged by and enthusiastic about their use of the World Power League. They liked the voting system, and thought that the randomness and incongruity of mixing politics with entertainment and with 'normal people' made it interesting. They also thought it occasionally stimulated some quite difficult decision-making, as when one boy reported that he had to choose between Saddam Hussain and George Bush.

The representation of users' votes as a hierarchical league worked well. Students reported finding it interesting and surprising to see how their views matched up with or departed from those of their peers. Several students reported surprise that their peers were more likely to have voted for political or cultural figures instead of media and entertainment personalities.

Many students responded to using the website with some complex thoughts about power and power relations, particularly the perceived abuses of power by western leaders in the war in Iraq, and the cycle of power displays by terrorist groups and western governments alike in the war on terrorism. They also identified the role of celebrity power in campaigns such as Make Poverty History and the Olympics bid.

When writing their own manifestos as potential candidates in the league, most students made generic statements of citizenship or restated the aims of make Poverty History rather than proposing changes to their immediate local context. It is likely in any further trials of the website that more meaningful responses would be made possible by focusing students on local rather than global issues.

Overall, trials of the application demonstrated its potential usefulness for highlighting issues of power, citizenship and politics. It led many students to identify some complex concepts related to who has power and how it is used, and it allowed them to build a powerful representation of their shared views, or at least of the views of the voting majority. The World Power League or similar application could be used to promote education around democracy, to facilitate young people's decision-making on important issues to do with their schools or communities, or to allow them to share and analyse the differing results from leagues carried out at different geographical and cultural sites.

At this stage, it seems sensible to conclude that the World Power League is sufficiently engaging and interesting and surprising to students for it potentially to support meaningful work in citizenship, PSHE, history - or for 'democracy in schools'-related activities.

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