USAID/OTI Liberia Hot Topics
February 2005
National Youth Song, Dance and Drama Competition Crowns Champion
Twelve youth groups from six counties throughout Liberia competed in the finals of a national youth song, dance and drama competition sponsored by LTI. The twelve groups were the finalists in a national competition which took place in three cities over the past four months. Flomo Theatre, a theatre-based peace education organization and the Development Education Network of Liberia (DEN-L), a local training NGO based in Bong County, organized the competition as a means to educate and inform through entertainment.
In preparation for the regional and national competitions, DEN-L held workshops which incorporated exploration of peace and reconciliation issues through artistic expression. DEN-L moderators facilitated sessions on the atrocities of the war and displacement, and ultimately hope for reconciliation. Flomo Theatre then assisted the artistic groups to translate their experiences and emotions in song, drama and dance.
The final competition attracted several hundred audience members who clapped throughout the individual performances which included traditional dances, choir songs of peace and skits on experiences throughout the war. The team from Grand Cape Mount County was awarded first prize for their powerful enactment of the brutality of violence perpetrated during the war. Their message through drama was of the importance of documenting individual truths to lead to ultimate reconciliation.
The regional competitions were carried live by local community-based radio stations while the finals were broadcast over national radio incorporating an element of national pride in local talent.
Flomo Theatre and DEN-L plan to replicate the success of this artistic-based healing process throughout the country during the next several months.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington: John Gattorn, Liberia Program Manager, 202-712-0716, jgattorn@usaid.gov
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