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A few community members are heatedly discussing their frustrations with the Wildlife Department.
They have been accused of poaching an endangered species. They visit the Department’s office and
attempt to meet with one of the officials. The official acts very rudely and threatens to arrest and fine
them if they are caught again. The community members are visibly upset and argue with the official
until they are removed by security.
Box 27: Sample conflict scenario
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Arrange for the actors to perform the scenario for others from start to finish.
Act it out a second time but stop it at key moments where a change in the actors’ behaviour or
actions would affect the way the story unfolds. At those moments, encourage audience members
to step into the scene, replace one of the actors temporarily, and attempt to positively change the
outcome. The actors should stick to their roles within reason but improvise in response. Each key
moment could be revised more than once to explore different approaches and perspectives.
Afterwards, facilitate a discussion amongst the audience members and actors about the different
responses and outcomes and how this could be applied to a similar real life situation.
TOOL: Image Theatre
Purpose: This tool can be adapted and used to encourage informal and open expression of people’s
perceptions of key issues
Resource: Adapted from material provided by Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization
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Prepare a short list of key topics of relevance to the community and external actors (see Box 28
for examples). The topics should be one or two words only and be vague enough for diverse
interpretations.
Working with a small group of at least 4 people, ask everyone to
Your country
stand in a circle facing outwards with their eyes closed. There should
Self-determination
be some space between them to avoid physical contact.
Power
Announce one of the topics and ask them to create an image using
Partnership
only their own bodies, keeping their eyes closed.
Ownership
At your signal, all actors simultaneously turn around to face inwards,
Sustainability
showing their image to the rest of the group.
At this point, you could ask them what they see and facilitate a Box 28: Sample topics
discussion about different interpretations of the same topic.
You could also facilitate rounds of simple follow-up actions such as asking them to group
themselves into ‘families’ of similar images without speaking, making a sound and movement
contained within their image, and transforming into the opposite image.
One variation on the circle is to ask actors to present their images to an audience. The audience
could then discuss what they see and what they think is the topic of the images.
TOOL: Multi-stakeholder Role Play
Purpose: This tool can be adapted and used to introduce a range of perspectives that are common to
multi-stakeholder partnerships. It stimulates innovative dialogue in a practical and engaging way that is
rooted in the local experiences of the participants. It can be used in a variety of settings ranging from
community meetings to multi-stakeholder workshops.
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The boxes below outline a sample role play activity about protected area governance. The
objective is to building understanding of how governance is manifest in practice in a complex
multi-stakeholder scenario.