Inclusion, Equity, Diversity and LARP
The Inclusion, Equity, Diversity and LARP project brought together 25 young people from Czechia, Poland, Greece, Romania and France in Rabka-Zdrój, Poland. The Erasmus+ youth exchange connected the topics of inclusion, equity and diversity with an unconventional educational method: LARP – live action role-playing. Through games, discussions, group activities and the creation of their own LARP scenarios, participants learned how to cooperate with people from different backgrounds, better understand the principles of participation and create environments in which no one is left behind. At the same time, they discovered how LARP can be used as a practical educational tool when working with young people and other target groups.
Stories have the power to connect people, and throughout this project LARP showed us just how powerful storytelling can be not only for entertainment, but also for education, cooperation and understanding others.
For most participants, LARP was a completely new world at the beginning of the exchange. With the support of our facilitator Theo, however, we gradually moved from its basic principles to designing games of our own. The first day focused mainly on getting to know each other through activities in pairs and groups, helping us create an open and welcoming atmosphere.
An important theme throughout the project was diversity and inclusion. We discussed our different perspectives, experiences, ages, cultural backgrounds and religions and explored how these differences can enrich a group. We also learned about the distinction between the comfort, learning and danger zones and considered how activities can be designed so that different people are able to participate safely.
As the programme continued, we explored the topic of participation and were introduced to tools such as Hart’s Ladder of Participation. Working in groups, we prepared short performances and put some of the concepts we had discussed into practice.
Then it was time to dive deeper into LARP itself. We discovered different types of LARP, the principles behind creating characters, stories and game situations, and most importantly how role-playing can be used as an educational method with peers, adults or children.
The biggest challenge of the exchange was to design and run our own LARP from start to finish. In international groups, we developed concepts, rules, characters and storylines before playing each other's games. It gave us the opportunity to turn theory into practice while testing our creativity, communication, teamwork and ability to respond to unexpected situations.
The programme also included a full-day trip to Kraków, where we completed several group challenges before having free time to discover the city in our own way.
The final part of the project was dedicated to reflection. We looked back at what we had learned, what had surprised us and what we wanted to take home from the experience. One of the final activities involved writing personal letters to other participants.
The exchange offered a combination of learning, creativity, fun and time spent together. The Czech team returned from Poland not only knowing how LARP works and how to create one, but also with new perspectives on inclusion, participation and working with diverse groups of people – as well as a better understanding of themselves.