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ETN Vocational School: Student Interactive Theater

Democratic Republic of CongoStudents Rebuild Program, 2013

We, the students of ETN, identified issues in our community that affect our lives as youth in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including: youth unemployment, need for basic social services, and substance abuse.

Issues Affectin

g Congolese Youth

Unemployment

Lack of opportunties

for youth

Negative Youth

behaviors

Need for basic social

services

Substance abuse among soldiers and child soldiers

We worked in small groups to create a plan that addressed these issues in our communities.

We went on field trips to meet local leaders, brainstormed opportunities to mobilize public opinion towards a specific policy of media reform, and even developed media strategies based on the skills and knowledge we learned in our media workshops.

We decided that the most important thing was: change starts with our circle of influence through positive action.

So, to show this, we gathered our ETN peers and staff in the school courtyard and performed interactive theater pieces to discuss these issues in our community.

In interactive theater, the audience actively participates in the play.

In our theater pieces, we asked the audience what they thought about the issues we were addressing, and their perspectives on how our community could overcome them.

Here is what it looked like on the day of our performance!

What is interactive theater?

Students and staff of our school gathered for the

performance.

We performed our skits about the issues affecting Congolese youth, including: youth unemployment, need for basic social services, and substance abuse.

And we asked the audience to contribute their perspectives and continue the discussion

after the play.

It was a great and constructive day!