A vital link between culture and society has always existed. Culture reflects our humanity by giving voice to personal, political and social truths and bringing them to vibrant life on the stage. It is of immeasurable importance to the wellbeing of every society. But during times of conflict, this necessary link to culture is lost amidst the nightmare of war and genocide.

Rwanda’s future depends on creative, involved, critically thinking youth who are committed to peace building through the promotion of intercultural and ethnic understanding. And in order to achieve this, our proposed action is to use culture- specifically theatre- to create safe spaces for dialogue and thus advance equality, tolerance and peace in Rwanda.

Between June 2007 and March 2008 we will hold theatre workshops every alternate month, toward organizing a Never Again Drama Festival in April 2008. These workshops will be a ‘training of trainers’ from the 5 NAR clubs in Kigali- who will then go back to their respective clubs and pass on the techniques they have learned.

In the month between each workshop session, there will be an evaluation period. Each NAR club will be visited by facilitators in order to see how the information from the workshops is being disseminated from the representatives to their clubs.

To bring it all together, in April 2008, the youth will participate in a ten day intensive theatre camp where they will workshop their efforts from earlier in the year, and create new work.
At the end of the camp, the work that is created will constitute the Never Again Drama Festival, and tour Kigali, Huye and Gisenyi.

The primary objective of our project is to give rise to a culture of ‘creative activism’. Activism and the struggle for human rights are not restricted to the political activists and the lobbyists of the world. Activism is for the child off the street who can see the injustice around her, and wants to find a way to contribute.

A way in which she can express her ideas about what is happening around her without her social status, race, ethnicity or gender getting in the way. But in a globalized world where everything has a strict protocol, activism has also become defined by rules and regulations. And in order to work within this framework of universally accepted ‘social consciousness’, we as activists have stopped thinking creatively. We succumb to certain norms and rules which

we think we must follow in order to fight for causes, and thus become predictable and monotonous. Thus, by utilizing the performing arts under the auspices of NAR, we seek to promote a more creative approach to activism and social dialogue. We want to inspire youth to think outside the box when it comes to making their voices heard. To enable them to understand that it is not about how loudly you yell or how violently you protest, but about how effectively you communicate.

If you are interested in being part of this project - financially or through volunteer efforts- please contact either Amina Ntumurize (0847 3163) or Nandita Dinesh (nanditadinesh@gmail.com).a