Deliberation Workshop: How can we solve the current haze problem?

A short, safe practice

Claire Cheng
FreedomFilmFest 2026

CC BY 4.0, by Claire Cheng

Opening02 / 31

What is deliberative democracy?

Just talking can go off track or turn into a fight. These steps help:

Pick people at random
Hard costly
Today people we know
Give everyone the facts
Hard needs experts
Today Pol.is, role cards
Talk in small groups
Hard a host per table
Today steps on screen
Hear every side
Hard everyone must come
Today you play the roles
Take time
Hard days, not hours
Today 3 hours
Make it count
Hard leaders must reply
Today your ideas
Today is a short practice
J. Fishkin, Deliberative Polling (Stanford Deliberative Democracy Lab) · OECD, Innovative Citizen Participation (2020)
Opening03 / 31

The Double Diamond

Drawn after Design Council, The Double Diamond (designcouncil.org.uk)
Opening04 / 31

When did the haze last affect you?

Pairs · 2 min each, then swap

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05 / 31

How Pol.is helps a discussion

1 · Everyone votes first
Agree, disagree or pass
2 · It groups people who vote alike
Not by who you are
3 · We start where groups disagree
That's today's question

Vote here: pol.is/4mkbdrjhd8

Open the full guide ↗
pol.is/4mkbdrjhd8, 25 Oct 2026, 5:50 pm · Group A: 9 people · Group B: 40 people
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06 / 31

Four roles

Government
Publishes the air readings
Business
Palm oil group linked to the fires
Affected public
Delivery rider, daughter with asthma
NGO
Small campaign team of three
Sit at your role's table
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Empathy map

Outside
What they say and do
SAYS · DOES
Inside
What they think and feel
THINKS · FEELS
At stake
What hurts, what they want
PAINS · GAINS (bottom half)
Be fair, even if you disagree
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08 / 31

Demo: Government

SAYS
"Our readings are the official ones."
THINKS
"I can measure the smoke,
but I can't stop the fires."
DOES
Publishes the air readings every day
FEELS
Watched.
Every number gets questioned.
Bottom half · PAINS: no one trusts the numbers · GAINS: a way to stop fires abroad
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Example · Business

SAYS
"We have a zero-burning policy."
THINKS
"Most fires started outside our land.
Who will believe us?"
DOES
Manages plantations in Indonesia
FEELS
Defensive.
Afraid of being named.
PAINS: being blamed for fires it didn't start · GAINS: a fair way to show where a fire started
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10 / 31

Example · Affected public

SAYS
"I can't take a day off."
THINKS
"If I get sick, who pays?"
DOES
Rides outdoors all day.
More orders on haze days.
FEELS
Tired.
Worried about her daughter.
PAINS: losing pay when schools close · GAINS: some cover for lost pay on bad air days
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Example · NGO

SAYS
"Name the companies."
THINKS
"We are only three.
How long can we keep this up?"
DOES
Protests and makes demands
FEELS
Frustrated.
Nothing changes.
PAINS: no public land maps, so no proof · GAINS: partners to share the work
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12 / 31

Your turn

Top half
On your own
7 min
Says, Thinks, Does, Feels
One idea per note
→
Bottom half
On your own
5 min
Pains, Gains
Read Thinks and Feels first
→
Share
As a table
8 min
Read your notes aloud
Same idea? Stack it
→
Photo
On your own
2 min
Photo of your map
Leave the map on the table
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Move to a mixed table

One of each role. Leave your map on the table.

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Why rewrite the question?

Pol.is showed where we split. Now: what do both sides care about?

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Demo: from "Should" to "How might we"

1 · Start
a yes/no statement
#19
"Companies' operations should be suspended until the investigation is over."
→
2 · Ask
what each side needs
NGO: hold companies responsible
Business: don't blame us for fires we didn't start
→
3 · Rewrite
one question both want to answer
How might we hold companies responsible for the fires,
while being fair to those who didn't start them?
"Suspend companies" is now one idea, not the only one
Reframe idea: collaborative meeting structure proposal (cho-uxreach.github.io)
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16 / 31

Three rules for a good "How might we"

✗ = not like this

Put both needs in
So both sides want to answer it.
✗ How might we hold companies responsible?
Leave the answer open
So many ideas fit.
✗ How might we suspend companies faster?
Keep it the right size
Too big: where to start?
Too small: one answer only.
✗ How might we stop the haze?
✗ How might we punish Company X?
IDEO Design Kit, How Might We · NN/g, Using "How Might We" Questions
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Turn your map over

1 · Pol.is statement
Copy the one your table picks
2 · How might we
Your table's question
After the break
Your ideal and ideas go below
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Pick a statement

Group A and Group B voted opposite ways on these

  • #19 Companies' operations should be suspended until the investigation is over. (the demo)
  • #9 We need to send a specialised team to put out forest fires.
  • #37 Bring those who caused the haze to the international court.
  • #8 There should be an accessible platform for people to send reports, images of poor air quality.
First come, first served · Copy it at the top of your map's back
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19 / 31

Your turn: write "How might we"

How might we [what one side needs], while [what the other side needs]?

Write
On your own
5 min
One question per note
As many as you like
→
Read out
As a table
5 min
Read yours aloud
Same question? Put it on top
→
Vote
On your own
3 min
2 dots each
Most dots wins
→
Test it
As a table
4 min
Read it to another role
Would they want to answer it?
Write the winner big on the map, under your statement
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20 / 31

Example · #9

1 · Start
a yes/no statement
"We need to send a specialised team to put out forest fires."
→
2 · Ask
what each side needs
Affected public: stop the smoke fast
Government: the fires are in another country
→
3 · Rewrite
one question both want to answer
How might we put out the fires faster,
while respecting that they are in another country?
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21 / 31

Example · #8

1 · Start
a yes/no statement
"There should be an accessible platform for people to send reports, images of poor air quality."
→
2 · Ask
what each side needs
Affected public: show what I breathe on the road
Government: people already question the official readings
→
3 · Rewrite
one question both want to answer
How might we let people share what they see and breathe,
while keeping official readings trusted?
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22 / 31

Example · #3

1 · Start
a yes/no statement
"We must balance corporate and public interest in addressing the haze issue."
→
2 · Ask
what each side needs
Business: don't punish us for fires we didn't start
Affected public: a day off is a day without pay
→
3 · Rewrite
one question both want to answer
How might we protect people's health and income in haze season,
while keeping rules fair for businesses?
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Break · 10 min

Next: from our question to action

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Imagine it's solved

1 · Ideal · 5 min
If it's solved,
what does life look like?
2 · Ideas, then sort · 25 min
Now / Next / Later
3 · Pick and check · 10 min
The best note in each column
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25 / 31

Ideas, then sort

Speak as yourself now, not as your role

Go round · 5 min
As a table
Each person says one idea
Talk freely · 10 min
As a table
What works in Malaysia?
Sort · 10 min
As a table
Now: we could start next month
Next: needs more help
Later: years away
Said an idea? Write it on a note. Stick it on the map.

Need a spark? Six cases from Taiwan

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Pick the best, then check

Vote · 3 min
On your own
You get 3 dots
Put 1 dot in each column
→
Circle · 2 min
As a table
In each column,
circle the note
with the most dots
→
Check · 5 min
As a table
Speak as your role:
"I like… I worry…"
Heard a worry? Add a note to fix it.
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Not at the table: a smallholder

  • Grows oil palm on 2 hectares or less
  • Fire is a cheap way to clear land
  • August: police arrested 72 people over the fires
  • Companies: "the fire came from the land next to ours"
  • A farmers' union: "victims of the haze, not the cause"
How would your ideas affect this person?
AP, 24 Aug 2026 · The Star, 20 Oct 2026 · New Straits Times, 9 Oct 2026 · Eco-Business, 14 Nov 2023
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Share · 3 min per table

Get ready for 3 min. Then one person reads your map.

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How to run a discussion like today's

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30 / 31

Reflect

Who else should be at the table?
Whose voice was missing today?
What would you do differently?
Next time, on another topic
Found a deeper problem? Go back a step. That's normal.
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31 / 31

Thank you

CC BY 4.0, by Claire Cheng