IDF - Community Events

The Mobilization drive

The Assembly

Presenting and collective understanding of the problem

The Spectators try out possible interventions

The Open forum, critical analysis of the problem

Agreement

End of the day

This happens too!

The preparations

Peacetheata for Conflict Transformation (Methodology four)

This is an interactive, democratic theatre aimed at conflict transformation. It recognizes and acknowledges the life styles, value systems, beliefs, indigenous knowledge, skills and synergies of a given community.

Peacetheata provides space to an individual as a locus of change to influence her/his community through a forum session. It uses some of Boal’s techniques http://www.ptoweb.org/boal.html of theatre of the oppressed. It is not only interactive and democratic but also immediate, informative and influential. Peacetheata can be used as a means of mobilization, sensitization, intervention and as well as an evaluation tool and has the following chronological stages.

• CREATIVE CONFLICT ANALYSIS (CCA)

Here the community (participants) creatively analyzes conflicts playfully but critically.
CCA enables them to identify their problems and consequences of a particular conflict. This leads the participants to understand their Conflict situations and to discuss and debate underlying issues.

• DIALOGUE PROMOTION TRAINING (DPT)

The Community members (Participants) get an opportunity of being self advocates, hence empowering them to make decisions about types of interventions suitable to the immediate reality. The community members engage in a dialogue of a given conflict, here Peacetheata promotes dialogue and also trains people to be critical as they dialogue on any conflict.

• DISCOVERING POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS (DPI)

This is where Peacetheata is used to find possible non violent interventions to a conflict. Members of the community get an opportunity to step in the shoes of the oppressed character and try out possible interventions.

• ENHANCED INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION (EIC)

Communication breakdown is among the chief causes of conflict. What Peacetheata does here is to bring members of the same community together. It brings two close neighbors who virtually live in two different worlds to understand and appreciate the different world they occupy. In so doing the members play together, talk, argue, discuss and listen to one another. Here it achieves Enhanced interpersonal Communication.

• PROVOCATION INTO ACTION (PIA)

Peacetheata unifies and controls the community’s response and finally provoke them not only to understand but also to excitement, commitment and positive action.

• BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY

1. Conflict situations can be played out for real, in a safe environment without    consequences of a real one in the community.

2. Begin to take ownership of the outcome of the process.

3. See results of the interactions and suggestions immediately.

4. See their suggestions incorporated before their eyes and ears.

5. Able to air their thoughts and feelings through the forum.

6. Debate and discuss in a free environment.

7. Opportunity to influence their communities.

Note:
Peacetheata is uniquely designed to suit a specific conflict situation since all conflicts are different.
Peacetheata is an important tool for, conflict mitigation/resolution since it informs, teaches and empowers the people. Much of what is entailed in this presentation is based on my practical work in peace building through trainings for young people, women and also facilitating in a number of peace camps, Schools and groups locally and internationally

Youth Camps and Festivals (Methodology three)

Youth Camps and Festivals – is a method that has proved to be so effective with the age group 14 to 23 years.

Interactive Development Forum camps and festivals are annual events. This methodology involves bringing together youth form all walks of life, school going and out of school youth. Using debates, drama, theater, poetry, music and dance; selected youths to take part in a given camp or festival prepare items to showcase.

Youth Camps and Festivals aim to;

• To develop knowledge and widen understanding of the participating youths on the key issues addressed by the Camp/festive and their importance to the young generation.
• To facilitate transfer of practical skills of community mobilization through training workshops, conventional, forum and guerrilla theater, speech and dialogue.
• To promote and facilitate experiential learning by bringing youths together in a camp/festival set up, where they will share their experiences from their local environment. 
• To mentor participants in transformational  leadership.
• To articulate the importance of young people as good communicators to support development of their communities.
• To motivate and support camp/festival participants to undertake and manage problems that occur on a personal level.

Open Space for Community Dialogue (Methodology two)

There is increasing passion for people to create opportunities for community dialogue to enable people facing local concerns in common to exchange and cooperate. Interactive Development Forum has seen the co-emergence of the need to facilitate occasions for real face-to-face dialogues and to sustain efforts and action by the affected Communities.

This interactive methodology involves providing space for the local community engage in assessing the problem, diagnose and draw solutions to the problem as a community.

Music, dance and drama are used to ignite the discussion where a problem statement is drawn and a discussion erupts from which solutions to the problem are drawn.

Football for Peace - F4P (Methodology One)

Football 4 Peace (F4P) is an activity-based community relations and reconciliation initiative.  Sports coaches, community leaders and volunteers, work alongside each other bringing differing communities together through football and aspects of outdoor education. 

In this methodology, young people enjoy learning and playing football together in non-threatening settings.  The activities and coaching methodology devised by the initiative promotes intimate interaction, allowing longer-term relationships and cross-community understanding to flourish.

Its aims are fourfold:

1. Provide opportunities for social contact across community boundaries;
2. Promote mutual understanding;
3. Engender in participants a desire for and commitment to peaceful coexistence; 
4. Enhance soccer skills and technical knowledge