If climate change or the loss of biodiversity are existential threats for our societies,
why do we still fail to engage the ecological transition?
Effective measures are lacking due to the fact that in an uncertain world, decision-makers and citizens:
1. Are not aware of the issue, 2. Do not believe the story, 3. Do not share the concern, 4. or do not know how to respond
This guides our choices – from rejection to contestation – and it reflects in an increasingly polarised public debate. We all make choices, based on the information and resources available to us, our beliefs and values.
Catalysing the transition therefore consists in overcoming these 4 barriers: information, beliefs, values and means.
How to become Architects?
Through collective intelligence
It is not enough to sit down at the table with people of good will*. We need the tools and the know-how to be able to use the collective potential and invent solutions*.
Because some of the barriers can by bypassed.
*Le Page, Christophe, et al. “Exploring how knowledge and communication influence natural resources management with ReHab.” Simulation & Gaming 47.2 (2016): 257-284.
The game: Planet C
Catalysing the transition
This is the challenge posed by Planet C.
Accompanied by a facilitator, 5 to 20 people will shape the develop-ment of a territory in which they are stakeholders. And together they will draw lessons from it.
An immersive experience
Planet C takes you to a landscape under transition. You will have to face a seemingly simple challenge: survive, prosper, preserve.
You will seek to achieve your goals in a system over which have little control. And above all, you will not be alone. Will you succeed?
A collective learning process
Once the game is over, the participants reflect on their own journey from Uninformed to Architect. With the help of the facilitator, they will identify the barriers and strategies that enabled them to overcome them, in a peacefull and safe space.
Who are we?
Planet C is based on years of R&D on participatory foresight and collective decision-making tools in the field**. The game was developed by experts in the fields of ecology, social justice and natural resource management.
We are a collective of 50 researchers and facilitators from French and Swiss research institutes, universities, associations and consultancies. This collective is led by LEAF Inspiring Change, a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.
Our assets are:
A scientific base validated by publications
A decentralized community of facilitators
A web-app to play in person and remotely
Training modules for facilitators.
** Garcia, C. A., et al. “Strategy games to improve environmental policymaking.” Nature Sustainability (2022): 1-8.
What the participants say
«It made me rethink everything I believed about the ecological transition. »
« It is a powerful tool for awareness raising. »
« An opportunity to see that discussing topics could be done in a concrete, participative and dynamic way»
« The interactions and negotiation games between stakeholders can be thought through…using a game. »
« A new approach to stakeholder discussions and relationships. »
« The immersive experimentation of the power that a game can have to advance the coordination of various actors with objectives that are difficult to reconcile. »