Shout It Through Art!

A short documentary that followed the Theater Based Peer Education initiative between June and December 2010, is out.The initiative was implemented by Y-PEER in partnership VAPA and supported by UNFPA;The documentary tracks the initiative’s steps from training a core team of peer educators and actors to developing awareness …plays on youth related health topics with high school students (video available in vapa channel on you tube).

       I.            Background

Under the Y-PEER project established in 2008 and supported by UNFPA Lebanon, several activities and interventions have been developed and implemented by the Y-PEER network aiming at raising awareness of young people on HIV/AIDS, developing capacities of young people and NGOs in peer to peer education, conducting advocacy events for promoting healthy and responsible behaviors among young people, developing and using interactive and creative approaches as well as visibility tools to be used in the various activities. With the aim of expanding the network to the school sector, TBPE will be introduced in 3 schools on a pilot basis tapping on the expertise of VAPA.

UNFPA approached VAPA after a thorough assessment to select a theatrical institution to lead an initiative in TBPE in schools as part of its Y-PEER project.  This initiative focuses on using theater techniques to raise awareness on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) topics including HIV/AIDS. These techniques are based on an interactive approach where the audience becomes an active participant in the scenes and their content.

VAPA is a non-profit organization registered in August 2009, with a mission aimed at:

“Enriching knowledge and awareness of basic social issues that regard human rights, social exclusion, conflict resolution, and the environment through artistic and cultural activities”

The theatre director and co-founder Lucien Bourjeily was approached by UNFPA to attend a master TBPE TOT in Alexandria, Egypt between the 5th and the 11th of April along with two actors from his theatrical troop where they were all exposed to all the different elements of the TBPE approach Lucien Bourjeily got further exposure to the TBPE approach in New York where his capacities in facilitation were developed during the month of June while conducting a study tour with Nite Star, a global Y-PEER organization partner.