This policy brief explores how arts-based engagement can help overcome the "imaginative gap" that often limits community participation in just transition processes. Drawing on the theatre play Old King Coal and the VISION project in South Africa, it argues that meaningful participation requires more than technical consultation, it requires creating safe, creative spaces where communities can collectively imagine and shape their own futures.

The brief presents practical recommendations for policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations, and practitioners interested in designing more inclusive, participatory, and community-owned just transitions. It highlights the importance of moving beyond top-down approaches by investing in long-term engagement, creative methodologies, and local ownership of transition processes.