Roleplay methodology applied to address the polarization topic
To implement our gained knowledge into a local action, we decided to act in a safe environment. At the same time we wanted participants to be eager to talk about the issues relevant for the society and to be used to these kinds of challenges.
Youth centers play important role in the popular organization movement of Catalonia so we decided to target those and carry out our activity in the youth center of the “Dreta de l’Eixample”, Barcelona (ig: @c jovesladreixa) located in the Eixample neighborhood in Barcelona. The participants’ average age was 22 years old.
The workshop represented a two-hour dynamic role play.
The objective was to find a solution for a problem that affected a local community and reflect upon the dynamics and flow through all the discussion. By this simulation it was possible to identify roles, impediments and attitudes that could make the dialogue of the two polarized sides difficult.
By being aware and familiar with these kind of situations, having new experiences and looking for solutions when role-playing it may be easier to deal with similar circumstances in reality. The activity was successfully implemented and a follow-up workshop is proposed to tackle depolarizing methodologies and study further the effects of extreme conflicts caused by a polarized collective. This second workshop balances the non-formal learning with a more theoretical input, in order to provide tools to recognise and analyze more complex situations.
