Helvetas Social E-Game
  Civic Space in Moon Country  
Let’s start
Frank Eyhorn/Helvetas
Background
This game is fictional, but it is inspired by Helvetas’ projects.

This is a role-playing game. Players must make recommendations in the context of situations that are typical for projects working to promote a strong civil society. The situations are intended to generate discussion among the players. There are no right or wrong decisions. However, every recommendation you make has an impact on the outcome of the game.

Role & Context
You are the President of the Coalition of Actors for Human Rights (CAHURI).

CAHURI is an NGO platform promoting freedom of expression and an open society in Moon Country. This small country in Asia is ruled by a repressive regime. The space for civil society has been shrinking for a couple of years. The government reacts violently against any form of criticism. Therefore, some residents have already left the country.

Game Rules
During the game you - as the President - must make six recommendations to the ten CAHURI members.
Each recommendation has an effect on your final scores.
Please consider how your recommendations influence…
Game Goal
The goal is to make recommendations to the board of the CAHURI coalition. With each recommendation you gain or lose points for community trust, policy influence and member safety.
Your starting points are:
Community trust 36
Policy influence 36
Member safety 36

The total score in each of the three areas will disclose your leadership style. Please note that points you receive with each decision are subjective, but based on our experience.

Your Name
Enter your name or the name of your team:
Recommendation 01
Ambivalent Member
A well-known NGO called Yes! applies to be a new member of CAHURI. It is a government-owned NGO (GONGO). Some high-level positions are occupied by former administration officials. What is your recommendation to the CAHURI board?
Recommendation 01
Areas Previous Result Current
Community trust points
Policy influence points
Member safety points
Back
Recommendation 02
New NGO law
A new NGO law is passed. It states that any NGO with income from abroad must accredit itself as a foreign agency. This entails the disclosure of confidential information to the government. What do you recommend?
Recommendation 02
Areas Previous Result Current
Community trust points
Policy influence points
Member safety points
Back
Recommendation 03
Closure of newspaper
The government closes an independent newspaper under the pretext of fake news. What do you do?
Recommendation 03
Areas Previous Result Current
Community trust points
Policy influence points
Member safety points
Back
Recommendation 04
Government control
CAHURI has documented human rights violations over the past ten years. The government requires that CAHURI shares all reports or otherwise stops its activities. What do you recommend?
Recommendation 04
Areas Previous Result Current
Community trust points
Policy influence points
Member safety points
Back
Recommendation 05
Ban of political parties
The government bans most political parties. What do you do?
Recommendation 05
Areas Previous Result Current
Community trust points
Policy influence points
Member safety points
Back
Recommendation 06
Torture and disappearances
The cases of torture and disappearances of political opponents and human rights activists are increasing. What are you doing?
Recommendation 06
Areas Previous Result Current
Community trust points
Policy influence points
Member safety points
Back
Final Score
Based on your recommendations as President, CAHURI has reached the following final score:
community trust points
policy influence points
member safety points

Your final score combining the points within the three areas is:

Scoreboard
Your score:
Position: 1
Scoreboard refresh  
Leadership style
The highest score amongst the three scoring areas defines your leadership style(s). Your leadership style is marked red:
Community-focused leader
Being close to the community is essential to you. You are attuned to what moves people and take this seriously. This is because you are convinced that there is no reclaiming civic space without the engagement and trust of the community.
Policy-prioritizing leader
You are a strong leader that focuses on systemic changes and policy making. You believe that, above all, policy and legal instruments play a significant role in sustainably reclaiming and opening civic space.
Safety-aware leader
Safety is of the utmost importance to you. As a leader, you think that reclaiming civic space goes hand-in-hand with protection, and you could never protect civic space without protecting the people acting for change.
Leadership Overview
refresh  
Community focused leaders
0
Policy prioritizing leaders
0
Safety aware leaders
0
Thanks for helping
to improve the world!
Concept: Peterson Paul, Nadja R. Buser
Support: Bernd Steimann, Susanna Zopfi,
                Andrea Peterhans
Illustrations: iStock/shutterstock
Game design: Absolutist, Ukraine 2023
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Leadership style
Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock