Open Power, Understanding misunderstandings 

A game to facilitate a more empathic discussion.
result of a 3 days intensive workshop with Claudia Chwalisz, an expert on democratic innovation 

Open Power, Understanding misunderstandings

A game to facilitate a more empathic discussion

We perceive the current European democracy system as a static, rigid and cold status quo. Yet current phenomenons like the rise of populism and Brexit underline the need for finding new ways of citizen involvement.

It is the year 2030.

The 2021 ban of single-use plastics flooded the market with biodegradable replacement materials. Thanks to the EU Plastic Strategy, by now the amount of plastic waste has reduced.

Instead, biodegradable materials are being produced. This creates challenges concerning the insufficient infrastructure, systems, and logistics to recycle this vast amount of organic waste.

With Open Power, this is achieved through impersonation of different personas through a game format, thereby understanding the arguments and positions of others that we do or don’t agree with, in order to start a dialogue and manage to find compromises and ideas rather than creating polarised votes (yes or no). It is, therefore, addressed to a group of people with either very polarized or unpolarized opinions.

It is the year 2030.

The 2021 ban of single-use plastics flooded the market with biodegradable replacement materials. Thanks to the EU Plastic Strategy, by now the amount of plastic waste has reduced.

Instead, biodegradable materials are being produced. This creates challenges concerning the insufficient infrastructure, systems, and logistics to recycle this vast amount of organic waste.

With this, people are opening up for counter-arguments, embracing and understanding contradicting opinions and finding constructive proposals rather than biased political division.

It is the year 2030.

The 2021 ban of single-use plastics flooded the market with biodegradable replacement materials. Thanks to the EU Plastic Strategy, by now the amount of plastic waste has reduced.

Instead, biodegradable materials are being produced. This creates challenges concerning the insufficient infrastructure, systems, and logistics to recycle this vast amount of organic waste.

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Using the format of a participatory game with a uniform way of communication does not exclude people from the conversations.
The rules make every opinion part of the discussion and force the participation of everybody around the table. The main topic is always an issue that is to be discussed by the EU parliament.

It is the year 2030.

The 2021 ban of single-use plastics flooded the market with biodegradable replacement materials. Thanks to the EU Plastic Strategy, by now the amount of plastic waste has reduced.

Instead, biodegradable materials are being produced. This creates challenges concerning the insufficient infrastructure, systems, and logistics to recycle this vast amount of organic waste.

The format of the game is open-source, allowing citizens to decide which personas will be part of the discussion. The game works with data and knowledge-based arguments and situations, stated by different sides towards an issue. The player can decide how to apply them and thus which position to take.

It is the year 2030.

The 2021 ban of single-use plastics flooded the market with biodegradable replacement materials. Thanks to the EU Plastic Strategy, by now the amount of plastic waste has reduced.

Instead, biodegradable materials are being produced. This creates challenges concerning the insufficient infrastructure, systems, and logistics to recycle this vast amount of organic waste.

The result of the game is one or more written proposals per group that is submitted via the EU website, which will be then taken into account during the parliamentary discussion.

It is the year 2030.

The 2021 ban of single-use plastics flooded the market with biodegradable replacement materials. Thanks to the EU Plastic Strategy, by now the amount of plastic waste has reduced.

Instead, biodegradable materials are being produced. This creates challenges concerning the insufficient infrastructure, systems, and logistics to recycle this vast amount of organic waste.