Aim:
- To encourage participants to identify those affected by the issue at hand.
- To enable participants to see perspectives which might not be their own.
Basic Structure:
- Explain the topic to be debated.
- As a group, identify as many stakeholders in the debate as you’d like (ie. people whom the issue effects). (Debate title example: “Gummy bears for school lunches”. Stakeholder examples: “Gummy Bear Producer”, “Diabetes Patient”, “Students” ect.)
- Ask individuals to take on the role of the stakeholders mentioned.
- Each stakeholder is to act out his or her point of view in the debate.
- The group can join in by asking questions to the individual stakeholders.
Variations:
- The role-play can also take place in the form of a panel, where those who will be acting out the role of the stakeholders are to sit at the front and answer questions presented by the rest of the participants.
Adapted from: www.linkedin.com/pulse/debate-activities-classroom-farah-najam