For nearly a decade and half now, people of Pakistan have been enduring the contingency of a bloody conflict as a result of war waged against terrorism. The state of violence has badly affected the lives of children at all levels including physical, psychological and social. We want to engage children in the narrative of peace using visual arts & photography for creative self-exploration and critical thinking using the arts, especially less-privileged studying in public and charity schools.
Being on the frontline of the war against terrorism, Pakistan is most affected by the conflict. Unlike conflicts that have now come to be known as "conventional warfare", the boundaries of this war do not exist and has far reaching impacts on the lives and psychology of people. Children, our greatest natural resource is particularly at risk of being permanently affected by this war. They are witnessing the conflict, and needs to be engaged in creative ways for psycho-social healing and hope.
Through workshops, we will help nearly 1000 children to understand peace through imagination, creative self-exploration and critical thinking. It helps them to understand conflict, will become confident through creative self-expression and polish their leadership skills. Our team of art educators will guide them in learning basic skills of photography and creating artwork through active dialogue and storytelling to explore their immediate issues, reflect on it and engage community for dialogue.
Through this project, nearly 1000 children will explore the narrative of peaceful co-existence from the collective history of the people of Pakistan. In that process, various false ideals based on hate and negative differences will be questioned. The audience of the exhibitions and media will be engaged to experience and amplify the impact to larger community. To ensure its sustainability, we will be engaging teachers in the workshops process.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
