Sabrina stands in the center of the circle, explaining a theater exercise to her peers: "When I point to you and say 'boat,' together, you are going to make a boat with your bodies. Ready? OK...BOAT!" The room breaks into giggles as the three students snap into place: the girl in the middle mimes sighting land, and the boys on either side of her make energetic rowing motions. Sabrina points at another trio: “Good, but faster next time – otherwise you'll end up in the middle!”
This may seem like just a simple game, but the laughter breaks down barriers and warms up bodies, serving as an integral part of the process 17-year-old Sabrina Shamsializoda from Tajikistan is helping to lead. Last summer, she attended a camp organized by the Youth Theater for Peace [13] (YTP) program, where she learned to work closely with other youth and developed the skills to engage her community in dialogue on local issues through a theater methodology called Drama for Conflict Transformation (DCT). Now she's a youth facilitator training her peers to do the same at a week-long summer camp supported by a small sustainability grant from YTP.
Sabrina is one of thousands of youth around the world engaged in IREX programs that equip young people with the knowledge and skills to transform their communities, prepare for a meaningful, active adulthood, and act as advocates of peace. From Lebanon [14] and Somalia [15] to Kyrgyzstan [16] and Tajikistan [17], IREX’s broad range of youth programs enhance their impact by creating space for young people to assume prominent leadership roles. By applying Positive Youth Development [18] practices, these programs encourage entire communities to value the contributions youth can make to address local issues, thus inspiring other young people in the process.
For example, Alimuhammad was skipping classes and getting in trouble with friends when he saw a YTP youth theater troupe perform. Intrigued, he asked if he could join the group, a decision that would significantly impact his life. “I gained lots of confidence and people around me became confident in my ability to widen my knowledge and share it with my peers,” Alimuhammad says. “I started to be goal oriented and see that I am capable of achieving goals that I set for myself. I am now so proud that I met people who helped me develop a ladder for my future.”
To date, YTP participants in Tajikistan have staged over 80 performances, reaching more than 10,000 people in communities across the country. Sabrina and other youth facilitators have also organized and led nearly 40 mini-workshops on DCT for peers in their communities.
Youth will play a key role in making this arts-based approach to conflict resolution sustainable, says Muzaffar Avazov, the YTP program coordinator at Fidokor, one of IREX's partner NGOs in Tajikistan. “[The youth leaders] have become well-known not only in their own villages,” Avazov explains. “Throughout the whole region, other youth consider them leaders and look up to them. The theater methodology will develop further in our region thanks to these youth and their peers.”
Youth Theater for Peace is implemented by IREX and funded by USAID [19].