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MS Nepal has designed and launched
conflict-theater as a tool for conflict resolution at grass-root
level in Nepal. Last year the conflict theater group learned about
the method, performed conflict-theater in Nepal and went to India.
This year the group went to Denmark to get a deeper understanding
and initiate contacts for possible global networking.
Getting to Know Your Self
In
a group made up of men and women from different communities,
social classes and ages, thrown together for a long time in
strange and challenging circumstances, conflicts are inevitable.
Through role-plays, wall-papers, evening meetings, regular
evaluations and conflict resolution exercises the members of the
group worked through their differences. Every participant was
involved in this process at some point. Through it the
participants grew as individuals. They challenged themselves and
each other on personal level. This is a level of learning that
traditional development activities, such as workshops and
training, seldom touch.
The Project
Objectives:
the historical roots of various conflicts in Nepali society
learn
how to use interactive theater as a medium for communication
and conflict resolution
explore
how democracy, human rights and advocacy can be used as
peaceful tools for conflict resolution and social change
develop
a network of Nepali grass-roots social activists committed
to peaceful social change
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The project aimed at partner organizations representing indigenous
“nationality” groups and “untouchable” castes - groups who feel
especially discriminated against in Nepali society. Through 4
stages of the project - in Nepal, India, Denmark and back in Nepal
- grass-roots activists learned skills to help them work
constructively with their own local conflicts. The project will
also form the base of an ongoing network between MS minority
partner organizations working on conflict resolution.
The first stage of the program took place in Nepal. This was
funded by MS-Nepal itself. In the second and third stages the
group traveled to India and Denmark, funded primarily by the
Danish Democracy Fund. The follow up activities in Nepal are
funded by MS-Nepal.
Kathmandu-Copenhagen
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The group stayed at a Danish Højskoler and participated in
a party |
The
participants gathered for a pre-departure workshop in Kathmandu
four days before their departure to Denmark. They discussed all
aspects of the trip: objectives, expectations, schedule, finances,
management and code of conduct for the group. They learned about
Danish customs. They even prepared some dance and song numbers to
present in Denmark. They also reviewed their experience in India,
making skits about different aspects of the trip. As part of the
preparation a participant from a previous Denmark visit program,
Democracy by Women, told them about her experiences there.
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Folk Highschools as Nepali Villages
The group stayed at Højskoler twice during their stay in
Denmark: for two weeks at the International People’s College
and again over a weekend and the Theater Highschool in Herning.
Both experiences were very positive. The highschool forms a
community almost like a village. They are able to welcome
visitors in, to show interest and kindness in ways that one
cannot find in larger |
The participants gained a broad introduction to Danish society in
the first week of their stay through courses and field trips. Each
day was structured so they had a class in the morning and a
relevant expedition in the afternoon. Thus, the first day they had
a course on Danish agricultural history in the morning and then
visited the Open Air Museum in the afternoon. In this way, the
week covered the Danish ideas and experience of democracy as it
relates to the folk high-school movement and agricultural history,
the workers movement, women’s liberation, and the participation of
elderly and children in society. The participants also saw how
Danish civil society organizations insure that the democratic
principles are upheld in modern Denmark.
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