Toolbox

Tonight’s Dinner

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Tags: #Inclusion #SocialInclusion #IntroductionToTopic #Democracy #participation

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Information

Objectives of the Session

● Reflect on exclusionary structures and processes. ● Discuss on the effects of social exclusion on decision-making. ● Link the game to the local realities.

Participants' Learning Objectives

● Reflect on exclusionary structures and processes. ● Link the game to the local realities.

Tips / things to take into consideration

The questions for the debriefing can vary a bit and be applied to the context. After a few general questions, it can for example be applied more specifically to an organization and its barriers and also lead directly into planning strategies to break them down. Another variation could be to focus the game on the exclusion of youth in political decision-making, rather than organizational decision-making processes. Thus the debrief questions would link the game more to that level.

Requirements

Time required

60 minutes (including preparation)

Space required

Big room

Group Size

10 - 40 participants

Group Info

No specific knowledge or experience is required, as the game is easily understandable.

Materials required

● Papers & pens. ● One chair per participant + one extra chair. ● Flipchart.

Preparation needed before starting

Write down as many single numbers on papers as you have participants (for example 1,2,3,4…13). You have to have two papers of each number, which will be divided into two identical bundles of numbers, each of the two with a row of numbers.
Arrange the chairs randomly in the room, except for the main chair which is next to a flipchart in the front. The other chairs are in different distances from the front chair, some are in front of each other, etc.
Put a random number on each chair from the first bundle.

Activities step by step

Step 1:

Ask participants to come in and pick a number from the second bundle. They then look for the chair with the matching number and sit down.

Step 2: Dinner planning

20 Minutes

- The facilitator explains: “We are now playing a game on decision making, where we’ll decide what we are having for dinner tonight to make it more practical. Every time I say “Go!” you all have to try and catch the chair in the middle. The person who gets to sit on it, is allowed to take the decision for the group. The rest of the group is not allowed to speak. We will have several rounds. Let’s start…”

- Several decisions are taken. Papers with these categories on them need to be prepared in advance, so that the participants can always randomly choose one question and don’t know what comes next. Each time someone catches the chair they pick a category and take the decision for the group:

Time for the dinner (early, late, …)?
Place for the dinner
Meat/Veggie/Vegan?
Main dish
Drinks
Side dish
Dessert

- Decisions are written down on the flipchart next to the main chair by the facilitator.

- After a few rounds when the decisions for the dinner have been finalized, everyone is asked to form a big circle again.

Step 3: Debriefing

20 Minutes

The facilitator asks the following questions in plenary:

What happened in the game?
Did everyone agree with the decisions taken? E.g. Whose allergies and diets were not considered?
How did those who were further away feel?
How is this linked to school student activism?
Who can speak up easily?
Who takes decisions?
In whose interests are these decisions?
How and why does this happen in our organization?

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