Mobile Arts for Peace (MAP) is a practice-as-research project supported by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of the larger project Changing the Story: Building Inclusive Societies for Young People. MAP’s aim is to work with young people, educators, cultural artists and civil society organizations to inform national education curricula in music, dance and drama. Championed by the Director of IRDP, Dr. Eric Ndushabandi, and Professor Dr. Ananda Breed from the University of Lincoln, MAP works alongside partners to design and deliver arts-based peace education projects.

On 5 August, IRDP had invited policy-makers from different organizations, including the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, Aegis Trust, Never Again Rwanda, UNESCO and the Rwandan Education Board, to share the Rwandan experience of the role of arts in peace education. The presentations and discussions showed how art has been integrated into the initiatives of all of these organizations to complement more traditional approaches to help the Rwandan society to come to terms with the dramatic events of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsis.

On 6 August, the conference showcased how art and performance are concretely used as a tool for peace education in Rwanda. Participants watched a forum theatre performance that had been created by MAP participants in Rwanda revealing the struggles of an impaired student facing discrimination at school. In breakout groups, participants discussed the root causes of this discrimination and possible solutions at the family, community and national level. The exchanges will feed into a policy brief, which will be shared with policy-makers in Rwanda and beyond.

On 7 August, participants of the conference dived deeper into MAP methodologies. Students and teachers shared their experience of how MAP changed their way of learning and teaching. They highlighted the arts- and student-centered approach of MAP, which helps to empower students and to promote their self-confidence. The young students stressed how MAP makes them feel like equal participants in policy discussions and how the MAP approach helps them to overcome fear to participate actively in conversations at school or with policy-makers.

In addition, the Rwandan participants at IRDP were trained in Mediation and Conflict Resolution by IRDP’s guest researcher Dr. Katrin Wittig, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge. Over two days, participants discussed the fundamentals of peace mediation and conducted a conflict analysis and a mediation simulation using arts-based tools to better understand conflict root causes.

Rwanda just as other developing African countries is still progressing in finding solutions of different problems such as illiteracy, poverty, malnutrition, education problems, gender-based problems…

Youth being the highest percentage of the total population of Rwanda, it is very important that to assure a better improved standardized future youth have to take action in the development of the country and in solving the problems the country is still facing with.

IRDP has been working with the government, other non-governmental associations and on its own to facilitate and engage young people in volunteerism through dialogues, trainings, field works and community services.

IRDP YOUTH CLUB VOLUNTEERING IN COMMUNITY SERVICE TO CONSTRUCT A HOUSE OF A VULNERABLE CITIZEN

After being given a training, IRDP Youth club based at the University of Rwanda in Huye started volunteerism activities in Huye district where they construct houses for vulnerable citizens, educating street children through arts and theater.

IRDP Director Dr Eric Ndushabandi Educating youth on their expected role in peace building and Volunteerism during an Art Dialogue organized by Ndabaga Impact

                      YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM DIALOGUE ORGANISED BY IRDP

During this dialogue, Youth were talked o their expected role in civic engagement and spirit of volunteerism and they were given an opportunity to share their ideas and ask questions.

After this training, the trained group is now active in their communities engaging themselves in different Volunteering activities such as country communal works, volunteering in teaching illiterate citizens how to read …

IRDP and FES together invited members of parliament, MINALOC, Civil Society Organizations(e.g. Transparency International, Rwanda Women’s Network etc) Academia’s, youth activists, NGOs, Experts and Media to discuss this topic.

IRDP

IRDP

IRDP

IRDP

At the beginning of the event,in his presentation, the director general in charge of territorial administration and good governance, MINALOC, Bob Gakire, explained the Rwandan decentralization policy in general and how the Rwandan administration was involved through different stages. he gave different examples of the various reconstruction of provinces, districts, sectors and cells which already happened in Rwanda to improve civic engagement,democratic elections, community participation,performance in service delivery and accountability.

The Director General in charge of territorial administration and good governance, MINALOC, Bob Gakire

With the collaboration of the local government, civil society organizations and community members, were working together to use all available economic opportunities from the local level to contribute to the local economic development.

The discussant, Dr Peter J. Mugume, Lecturer, researcher and coordinator at the center for conflict management of the University of Rwanda, he highlighted decentralization as a multi faced policy to achieve economic development, service delivery, implementation of other policies from the central government to local government.

The discussant, Dr Peter J.Mugume, Lecturer, researcher and coordinator at the center for conflict management of the University of Rwanda

The audience were recommending that IRDP and FES has to expand dialogues to engage more people,to continue supporting CSO, to recognize the CSO work and their contribution to the development,to involve the CSOs in consultations at district level.  

IRDP

IRDP

IRDP

Healing-Our-Communities-Final-Report

Monitoring and evaluation through surveys, participatory observation and interviews with participants and stakeholders has evidenced that MAP: a) significantly contributed to learning processes; b) empowered adult and youth trainers with public speaking skills; c) increased the academic performance of students; d) improved communication and relations between students and parents; and e) enabled participants to identify and address community-based issues.

MAP provides training and skill building in Music, Dance and Drama alongside the development of safe, inclusive and progressive spaces for dialogue, active listening, and shared problem solving for peacebuilding. We are working directly with Sana Initiative to integrate mental health awareness and support during all activities. The partnership and co-investigation with IRDP will provide a link between the drama clubs and school initiatives with community-based dialogue groups.

MORE: Concept Note MAP (AB 21 2 19)

MAP Stakeholder pict