Implementation of Game- And Play-Like Procedures And Processes to Discuss Refugee & Asylum Policy

This paper will present the early results of the research that aims to (1) develop collaboratively a procedure to include war refugees in deliberation on their experience of institutional assistance, (2) analyze the outcomes of implementing this procedure considering the inclusivity of the process and its conclusions for possible policy use. To start our investigation, we want to reply to two sets of questions that consider the conceptual and practical validity of the distinction between Play- and Game-like deliberation. First, we intend to focus on conceptual aspects by asking (1) How do the procedures for the Play- and Game-like process differ? (2) What are the main distinctive criteria that help define them? In our prior work, we made distinctions between Game and Play based on (1) the goal and control over results, (2) interaction patterns involving rules, expert knowledge, moderation, argumentation, and language, and (3) actors, the significant others, and their roles. In our current work, we want to verify and complement this proposal, especially by reflecting in-depth on intersectional exclusion. We will answer research questions by reviewing theoretical literature and empirical studies. We also expect that our case study, even if addressing specific groups and issues, may contribute to these considerations. Further, we will analyze the empirical material from our case study to find out (1) How do Play- and Game-like procedures allow for including Ukrainian war refugees in reflecting on their own experience of systemic support? (2) How do innovative IT applications like Decidim intervene in the processes? We will draw conclusions from the analysis of two series of three workshops involving 28 war refugees from Ukraine in Przemyśl and Warsaw.