Empathy for unruly natures: Immersive theatre as a tool to build trust and mitigate conflicts around wildlife in the urban landscape

The Empathy for Unruly Natures project aims to extend the dissemination of results and activities from an ongoing research project, "Unruly Natures." This aims to understand the interaction between people and urban-dwelling baboons in Cape Town and find ways to reduce conflicts arising from differing views on how to manage baboons.

Through extensive data collection on residents´ experiences and opinions, along with carefully facilitated discussions and creative use of theatre performances, the project endeavors to reduce discord and built trust in divided communities.The proposed project has three main goals: 1) Bring theatre performances and subsequent dialogues to a wider audience to mitigate conflicts, 2) Engage youth in the ongoing societal debate about baboons, and 3) Disseminate insights to researchers, artists, and others by producing video recordings of theatrical performances and a documentary about the "Unruly Natures" project .Globally, wild animals are increasingly adapting to urban life, creating a new and important challenge to sustainability science.

To minimize risks for both people and animals, activities to enhance understanding, awareness, and empathy are essential.

Empathy for Unruly Natures is led by qualified researchers who employ interdisciplinary methods to capture and analyse people´s perceptions of urban wildlife, and dramatists with extensive experience in using theatre in conjunction with research and activism.