End of the world

Resources

Materials for the presentations (sheets, markers, old magazines, etc.); disguises for actors/participants.

Steps

• The facilitator starts the activity by introducing participants to the scenario they will pretend to live in, as characterised by the advertising campaign of Crufi. The facilitator can introduce it by stating: ‘today is the 21^st of December 2012 and the world will end. It’s the apocalypse. And there is no way to survive, except that we were contacted, some minutes ago, by Aliens. Aliens make it very clear: they can save our planet if we convince them to do it. They will visit us in 10 minutes and grant positive and negative points to the new projects you (participants) will present to them.’
• The facilitator may define the content of the projects to be presented, considering this activity as an opportunity to give feedback on the learning and future projects/improvements.
• The facilitator gives 10 minutes for participants to, individually or in group, prepare a pitch on what they will do, considering that their idea has to create a positive impact in the world, please the Aliens and save the planet.
• Participants are free to present their project as they wish (e.g. posters, role play, etc.) in order to allow them to immerse in the scenario, fostering their creativity.
• After 10 minutes, the facilitator calls the Aliens that may be a group of selected people, instructed to be the jury that will quantify the presentations with positive and negative points and add Alien adjectives (as they don’t speak our language) to assess the presentation.
• The facilitator must define the maximum time for presentations (e.g. 4 minutes maximum) and count the points in the end.
• At the end of all presentations, the world is saved if the positive points are higher than the negative points.
• The facilitator must give time at the end to sum up the activity’s goal and give the jury and the participants the opportunity to share their opinions regarding each presentation.

Tips

• The facilitator must involve participants in the scenario as much as possible – by acting as the reporter who received the call from the Aliens, by playing music related with the topic, by asking the jury to dress like Aliens, etc. This will engage and motivate participants to accept the challenge and act accordingly, resulting in a playful experience for all.
• During the activity, the facilitator must ensure that the designated times are being kept, as the end of the world is near, and Aliens don’t wait…  
• At the end of the activity, the facilitator must resume the activity and give space to any participant that wants to share what they liked most and least, as well as what they learnt and became more aware of after this experience. 
• If any participant is resistant to accepting the scenario, the facilitator must keep the pace and assess this resistance individually, but never compromising the success of the activity for the rest of the group.