Who—or what—is the antagonist?

Just as the story’s hero deserves careful selection, so does the antagonist. We must be careful not to paint potential actors as our story’s antagonist. The ILO’s tripartite nature is both a benefit and a challenge when sharing stories—in fact it was often cited as a major reason why it was difficult for the organization to share stories.

A proper antagonist may be an opportunity to highlight a system at play in the main character’s world. For example, which systems affect and are affected by forced labour or child labour? How do those systems appear as characters in the story?

Remember, an antagonist is the source of conflict in a narrative, but it does not necessarily have to be evil or a villain. An antagonist may simply have a different agenda than the story’s hero.

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