Global Action Methodologies for Empowerment to Change

GAMEChange Empowerment Methodologies (GEMs)

GAMEChange Empowerment Methodologies (GEMs)

GAMEChange empowerment methodologies (GEMs) aim to inspire and support thousands of ‘champions’ to improve and gain more control in their life.

Through sharing GEMs and their experiences within their social networks and beyond, champions further improve their own success. Through working together they, develop collective actions and increase their voice in policy advocacy.

GEMs picture diagrams aim to empower women and men from all backgrounds to vision, analyse, implement and track their own individual and collective strategies for change.

GEMs facilitation strategies aim to inspire ‘champions’ at all levels to use GEMs to transform and gain more control over their lives.

Inclusive leadership principles support hundreds and thousands of ‘community champions’ to share GEMs to grow their social networks from community to policy levels.

THINKING WITH PICTURE DIAGRAMS

GAMEChange empowerment methodologies (GEMs) use picture diagrams
to empower women and men from all backgrounds to vision, analyse, implement and track
their own individual and collective strategies for change.

Symbol Pictures as Visual communication

Visual communication has become a very important skill for everyone from villages to boardrooms in the modern world.

  • more information on a page: pictures and diagrams can clarify complex concepts, identify interrelationships between issues and clearly prioritise ways forward.
  • everyone can participate equally: People who cannot read and write can communicate directly with powerful stakeholders. Different language speakers can understand a lot without translation.
  • improves learning: People remember more information when it is visual than when it is written.

Picture diagram templates

GAMEChange methodologies adapt four picture diagram templates for different issues, contexts and processes. These diagrams:

  • inspire participants to vision possibilities for change
  • ask and analyse certain questions based on participants’ own experience
  • prioritise both immediate and longer term actions for change
  • track progress on actions over time and share lessons with others
  • Symbol Pictures

    Symbol Pictures

    “A Picture [can be] worth a thousand words.” But drawing is not just ‘pretty pictures for illiterates’. GEMs symbol drawing…

  • Vision Journeys

    Vision Journeys

    Vision Journeys are the underlying framework for all GAMEChange empowerment processes. They are SMART strategic planning tools. They incorporate SWOT…

  • Action Trees

    Action Trees

    Action Trees clarify very complex realities at a particular point in time. They produce SMART action fruits to prioritise ways…

  • Empowerment Maps

    Empowerment Maps

    Empowerment maps systemically map stakeholders, families, communities, organisations and networks. They analyse interlinkages and power relations to prioritise actors and…

  • Diamond Visions

    Diamond Visions

    Diamond Visions are participatory frameworks to examine sensitive, complex and/or conflictual issues. They develop a hierarchy of locally relevant indicators…

Visual Communication and Drawing, West Bengal, India
Men’s Gender Challenge Action Tree for women’s land ownership, Kenya
Joseph’s Coffee Business Tree, Tanzania
Vision Journey Multi-lane Plan, Uganda

Facilitation for Transformation

Fun with a Serious Purpose

GAMEChange facilitators do not aim to ‘teach tools’ or ‘political correctness’ but help participants transform and get more control over their lives.

Participants need to have fun and gain confidence to innovate and change. This means promoting participant experiential learning through many different channels:

  • Picture drawing
  • Songs and Dance
  • Role Play Dramas

Underlying each of these methods are:

  • empowering and fun ‘disruption of comfort zones’
  • experiential leadership and deep listening
  • ‘facipulation from the back’

The best facilitation is if the facilitator can leave the room and participants continue working with enthusiasm. Then participant ‘champions’ can continue to inspire change in other people when they get home.

GEMS Facilitation Principles and non-negotiables

All GEMs follow a number of common facilitation principles and non-negotiables:

  • Inspiration is key
  • Inclusion and respect for all
  • Self-reliance
  • Everyone can be a leader of change
  • Action from day 1
  • Reflective learning
  • Community-led and multi-stakeholder
  • Social justice principles of gender and diversity rights are mainstreamed and non-negotiable
  • Symbol Pictures

    Symbol Pictures

    “A Picture [can be] worth a thousand words.” But drawing is not just ‘pretty pictures for illiterates’. GEMs symbol drawing…

  • Songs and Dance

    Songs and Dance

    GEMs songs and dances inspire with visions of change, subvert cultural stereotypes, and celebrate new ways of doing things in…

everyone can be a leader (ILEAD)

GAMEChange empowerment methodologies aim to inspire a sustainable and dynamic change movement.

The main sharing and capacity-building takes place within participants’ social networks, within households, communities and local groups.

!!! More here

Peer Sharing Role Play, Uganda
We Are the Champions Song, Kenya men coffee farmers
The Leaders are Us! East Africa champions Kenya and Tanzania

Key GEMs

GEMs flexibly adapt for different activities, stakeholders, contexts and local capacities. There are no blueprints, but many possibilities for innovation.

Gender Justice

  • Participatory Gender Review (PJR)

    Participatory Gender Review (PJR)

    The Gender Justice Review (GJR) is a participatory process with women and men that periodically reviews the progress towards gender…

  • Empowerment Against Violence (EAV)

    Empowerment Against Violence (EAV)

    Empowerment Against Violence (EAV) is a GALS-based methodology to work with women and men of all ages, within families, communities…

  • Gender Action Learning System (GALS)

    Gender Action Learning System (GALS)

    Gender Action Learning System (GALS) focuses specifically on clarifying gender justice visions, analysing gender inequalities and promoting gender justice strategies.…

Equitable Wealth Creation