A few weeks ago I was delighted to find an email from the Cyprus Network for Youth Development inviting Peace Tiles to be a part of a youth conference they’re organizing in the fall. I immediately through of Peace Tiles artists Suzanne Pender and Kasia Ozga, who have done such terrific work around HIV/AIDS education with Gram Bharati Samiti in Rajasthan, India. I replied with a brief proposal outlining some ways to approach the structure and outcomes of the workshop.
The way the Cyprus Network for Youth Development described the opportunity is, “not be an academic one.” They are focusing “as much as possible on personal experiences in conflict situations, by bringing people from Bosnia, Nothern Ireland, Israel and Palestine, as well as ex-child soldiers. We want the conference to be as interactive as possible and fun as well. So we thought that Peace Tiles would be a great way to achieve these ends.”
I’m also reminded of Christina Jordan, and the way she was able to use Peace Tiles to work with “night commuters” in Uganda, as did Stephen Shames of the Stephen Shames Foundation. The way Christina was able to connect the work of displaced children with the situation of children in Darfur was very moving. Citizen-journalist Gabriel Stauring of iAct captured the moment on video as artworks from Ugandan children were given to Darfuri children as a gesture of solidarity and hope was very moving.
I’d like to be able to share that story in Cyprus.
Its an exciting opportunity to work in Cyprus, where tension between Greek and Turkish populations has simmered for years. The Peace Tiles proposal stressed the potential for a workshop that:
- Provides a safe forum for expression
- Creates a process and vehicles for reflection
- Encourages lasting visual impact
The rub will be finding out how the Cyprus Network for Youth Development and the young people themselves would like to use the resulting artwork – as a symbolic entity (mural) somehow divided between two parts of the country? Perhaps a medium of exchange between young people as they prepare to depart the conference?
You can access the full proposal here. I’d be eager to hear anyone’s thoughts on how you suggest that Peace Tiles leverage the opportunity to work in Cyprus, and perhaps nearby European countries. Thank you!
LHT
