Shout It Through Art!

The Portfolio page is designed to showcase our projects (in a non chronological order). We thank our partners for their support and their involvement in spreading our message. We also hope to grow this list as the years continue.

 “Education through entertainment” or “Theater Based Peer Education”

 In collaboration with the UNFPA 

( 2013)

Workshop to devise the “Let’s Talk” campaign interactive PLAY that will tour Lebanon in summer 2013. Project supported/initiated by UNFPA Lebanon, Ypeer network, H&M. Implemented by the Visual and Performing Arts Association (VAPA). Performances dates will be announced SOON… Stay Tuned! More info about “Let’s Talk” campaign visit: https://www.facebook.com/letstalkleb PLAY – DIRECTOR Lucien Bourjeily.

Capacity Development for Integrating Theatre Based Peer Education in schools

Under the Y-PEER program established in 2008 and supported by UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) Lebanon, VAPA introduced TBPE (Theater Based Peer Education) will be introduced in various using its expertise in Improvisational Theatre.

The main objective of this initiative is to raise awareness on sexual and reproductive health, namely HIV/AIDS, using Edutainment: Education through Entertainment. This approach uses theatre-based techniques to create an interactive learning process in which the audience is physically and intellectually more involved in sexual-related topics.

   For the second consecutive year, UNFPA approached VAPA after a thorough assessment to select a theatrical                    institution to lead an initiative inTBPE 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. This year, 4,000 students will benefit from the program, as well as theater and non-theater                    teachers in various private and public schools/school institutions all over Lebanon.

(Nov 2012)

In November 2012, a regional UNFPA – Ypeer training was conducted in Cairo, Egypt in collaboration with VAPA’s theater specialist Lucien Bourjeily. The training’s goal was to teach theater based peer education techniques to youth from all around the Arabic world to use for sexual health education among their peers. A project in which VAPA has been proudly collaborating with UNFPA and Ypeer since early 2009 in Lebanon and the middle east. This picture was taken on the last day of the workshop while participants held up high their newly acquired training “passports”.

About UNFPA Lebanon

Established in 1993, UNFPA supported country programme in Lebanon focuses on reproductive health and rights; population and development; and gender equality. Culturally sensitive approaches and human rights are cross-cutting parameters applied and adopted throughout all programme interventions and strategies.

UNFPA works in partnership with Lebanese Governmental and civil society counterparts. The guiding principle underpinning the programme is national ownership and leadership, accountability harmonization with other UN agencies, and management for results.

UNFPA’s main strategic interventions consist of evidence-based advocacy and policy dialogue; integration of population concepts and dimensions in national sector and local planning; institutional and capacity development; generation, dissemination and exchange of knowledge; collection and analysis of population data; development of integrated information systems, among others.

————————————————————————————————————————————————–

AUTOGRAFF in collaboration with the Cooperazione Italiana (Beirut office), the Ministry of Interior & Ministry of Social Affairs

(Feb 2010 – Aug 2010)

Withing the frame work of Cinemarena 2, VAPA held Graffiti workshops in 12 different prisons followed by a user’s guide and five touring exhibitions. The first project phase has been characterized by briefing inmates on the art of graffiti and receiving illustrations from the participants and deciding on the drawing to reproduce into a bigger scale painting. 

Al Fanar is a psychiatric hospital founded in Southern Lebanon. On February 2010, VAPA, in collaboration with the Italian Cooperation, offered a Finger Painting workshop to 100 patients of the hospital.

One of the goals of this workshop was to stimulate the interest of patients being treated at Al Fanar Hospital into becoming productive and active by using finger painting as a form of expression. The direct outcome of this activity was a 100 cm canvas covering the entrance walls of the Hospital.

Participants used their creativity to express certain needs. It was obvious that this activity helped many of the patients bond together, improve their spirit of team work and open their eyes to diverse forms of channeling their potential.

24/7 Campaign in collaboration with the Human Rights Watch (Beirut office)

(May 2010)

The aim of 24/7 Campaign was to alter the servant stereotype in Lebanon, established between an Asian/African person and a Lebanese person, by showing  a more creative, powerful, proud, self-reliant, and intelligent face of migrant workers, as business women and representative of rich and sophisticated cultures. The organizers in collaboration with Human Rights Watch are demanding migrant workers’ right for good working conditions, starting with the minimal right for at least one day off a week.

VAPA conceptualized the whole campaign for this event, outlining the ideas to secure its success and defining the steps needed to implement them.

Act for the Disappeared in collaboration with the Human Rights Watch & Act for the Disappeared NGO

(Sep 2010)

On the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared, a group of independent activists, organised a two-day event on September 3 and 4, 2010, at Gibran Khalil Gibran garden, in front of the UN House/ESCWA, in Downtown Beirut.

The objective of this event was to raise awareness about the issue of the 17,514 missing persons following the civil war in Lebanon and to widen support for the solutions advocated by the committees of the families of the disappeared and the organizations working on this issue.

VAPA contributed in conceptualising the event, coordinating the media coverage and participating in the event’s art exhibition.

9 PM to 9PM in collaboration with ImproBeirut

(march 27, 2010 9:00 pm-march 28, 2010 9:00 pm)

On the occasion of the World Theatre Day celebrated on March 27th in countries around the globe, Improbeirut, with the support of VAPA, organised a 24 hours theatre improvisation MARATHON, an Uninterrupted 24 hours of improvised scenes, to spread awareness about improvisational theatre within the Lebanese and Arab community.

On 9pm, March 28 2010, the challenge was completed… more than 256 improvised scenes were played during the 24 hours of non-stop performance at the Monnot Theatre…

Storytelling all over Lebanon! in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Clown me In NGO

(April 2010)

On National Reading Week 2010, VAPA offered storytelling activities to public libraries all over Lebanon.

The storytelling was performed by “Clown Me In” founders, Sabine Choucair and Gabriel Munoz,  who decided to add a twist to traditional story telling by performing the events they are reading.

A selection of stories from three different languages was chosen out of the book “Let Me Tell You a Story”.

The result was the participation of around 300 children in the activity which took place in the following regions: Kamed el-Lawz,  Jib Jannin , Mansoura , Kfardebian , Achkout , Rayfoun , Srifa , Jwaya , Tyr , Tannourine.