Hunger games

Aims of the tool

Involving the participants in assuring the visibility & dissemination dimension of the project

Description of the tool

Participants are split into intercultural gender-balanced teams of ideally 4 people. It is important that the number of the teams equals the number of project days. Each group it is called District and has a number (e.g.: District 1, District 2…). Every day, one group will be in charge with covering the activities by taking photos, recording short videos, creating infographs and writing an article to outline the best moment of the day and the lessons learnt. They can use any means of communication (online and offline) to make their story heard, as well as their personal or work social media profiles. The Capitol (organization team) receives all materials, posts daily articles on the webpage and the best photos/videos etc. on social media. There are points given for the quantity and relevance of the materials, creativity, number of people reached, engagement of target groups, diversity of tools used, and punctuality in respecting the deadlines. The team which gets the most points at the end of the competition wins.

Why to use it?
- It enhances the quality of visibility & dissemination of the project, giving participants an active role in letting the world know their story, which gains power and depth.
- It improves communication competences of participants, both face-to-face and online.
- It develops time management skills, as there are strict deadlines to send and post the materials.
- It is an opportunity for participants to learn how to use new digital tools.
- It offers a space to share best practices among participants with different backgrounds.
- It develops teamwork skills of participants.
- It encourages innovation and creativity.
- It equips participants with know-how to create and support follow-up activities.

Suggestions
- Make room in the schedule for special Hunger Games sessions: introductory session (day 1) and working sessions (ideally in the evenings, before daily evaluations), during which the teams work on their materials. A facilitator can support them in this process.
- To split the participants into intercultural groups, make sure you avoid putting together people from the same country. Pay attention also to gender balance.
- In case there are more participants and just few project days, you still might consider forming groups of 4, which will be in charge with covering half of the day.
- First team will start covering the project in the first day, after lunch. Last team will cover the penultimate day. The Award Ceremony will be in the last day.
- If the game will include outdoor challenges which imply interaction with community, make sure every group has one person that speaks the language (native or not) or bring some local volunteers in case they might need help.
- Among organization team name one person responsible for collecting the materials from the participants, post the articles daily on the web and keep the score.
- Make a special e-mail address of the Capitol, where participants can send their materials to avoid confusion.
- Set a special #hashtag for your project, so that you do not lose track of posts and evaluate your total reach and engagement of target groups.
- Constantly bring the participants updates & motivational messages from the Capitol. It can be short videos (projected instead of an energizer for example) in which you announce the progress of the teams, state some funny facts etc. Depending on the group dynamic, you can also add extra-challenges such as: collaboration between districts, special covering for key events (flashmob, conference, study visit, round table etc.)
- Prepare a special Hunger Games Award Ceremony in the last day, diplomas and gifts for the winners.

Scoring ideas
- 5-15 relevant photos/ day – 5 points
- 15-30 relevant photos / day – 10 points
- Video – 20 points each
- Social Media posts – 2 points each
- Audience reach – 30 points for the best total reach, 20 points for the second best and 10 points for the third best
- Target engagement – 1 point for each comment, like, share/ favorite, retweet, reply etc.
- Infographs – 15 points each
- Article – 10 points
- Offline actions – 20 points each
- Special challenges – 30 points
Note: Materials sent after the deadline will not receive any points.