Beyond BORDERS Festival : SEE. THINK. ACT.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this post on moju about a 'British council Youth Festival', since they posted a sort of a press release, i wont repeat the exercise. instead i'll give you some info on the actual workshops.

The Festival will be happening on the 28th and 29th March at the BMICH committee rooms A & B. Registration is Free.

i'm one of the organizers of the festival. the project itself is the reason for my absence in the blogosphere and at the blog-meetup.. actually i could have made the meet up.. i was somewhere near (BC) but tired.. and not exactly dressed for the occasion.

anyway if any of you guys consider urselves young (16 -24, or can pass urself to be in the range ) then drop us an email at slbeyondborders AT gmail DOT com or call Hanim on 0773067347.

lots of skools have already registered. so hopefully loads of chiks will show up..

the workshops are probably going to be good, the Forum theatre thing , which is a sort of an interactive form of drama, where they first show the audience the drama, and the audience gets to change it around to change the outcome. The forum theatre on Conflict resolution is directed by Nimmi, (saw a post on kottu about her recently.. cant remember who posted it)

and the guys from Sage training, Robert & lalith are simply the best self-development guys in the business. 'citizenship – who cares' is a must see workshops.

oh and before i forget, there is a concert happening in conjunction with festival called 'junction', sunera foundation, Bathiya and santhush, the Fusion drummers from nomad will be there. tickets are rs.200 available at the British council. the concert will be on the 28th at 7.30 Pm at the HNB audi. tickets wont be available for long, so if u wanna come, get to it tomorrow or day after or email me : deane034 at gmail DOT com. (i wonder if that prevent spam..at all.. ne way irrelevant)

The following is part of the official write-up.. or at least one of the drafts :)

FORUM THEATRE ON HIV & AIDS and Conflict Resolution

This theatre form was developed in Latin-America in the 1960's as a special kind of performance, where the distinction between reality and theatre is lifted by inviting the audience with their ideas on stage. The aim of Forum Theatre is to
change the spectator from a passive to an active participant and to encourage people to get active and engage in dialogue about issues of concern within a given society. At the festival we focus on two themes on Conflict Resolution and HIV & AIDS.

WORKSHOP ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Conflict is part and parcel of our daily existence as human beings. They are built into our human relationships. The Workshop will deal with such practical aspects on conflict resolution and will give an introduction into how this tool can be used to better our lives. Mr. Harsha Fernando of the Attorney General's Department, a seasoned trainer in Conflict management will
conduct the workshop.

WORKSHOP on the HUMAN EFFECTS OF HIV & AIDS

Adolescent Reproductive Health is a topic that all young people should have knowledge on to lead a healthy life. This workshop will focus on the human effects that Sexually Transmitted Diseases including HIV AIDS have on people's lives and will also open you into practical elements of how to lead a healthy sexual life. An experienced activist in the field of HIV
and AIDS will lead the workshop.

Public Speaking

Public Speaking is an important tool that all of us should have and is not a quality expected and limited to those who want to be 'leaders'! This workshop brought to you by experts from the Colombo Toast Masters Club will give you tips and pragmatic inside information on how to become a good public speaker

Youth Activism

Young people are not just leaders of tomorrow but are being increasingly recognized as development partners for today. This workshop lead by Mr. Sanjana Hattotowa, a civil society activist will give you an introduction on how you can contribute to positive social change.

'Vision Passion Action'

This workshop will help you to streamline your passions to cultivate your vision and translate your vision into action.


'Citizenship- who cares?'

Active Citizenship is one of the three themes of the Beyond Borders Project. The workshop run by Robert and Lalith from Sage Trainers will focus on means and ways to be a pro-active citizen and will question some of our misconceptions, fatalist attitudes and perceptions!

Substance Abuse – A burning problem of our day

this session run by Prof. Ravindra Fernando, a medical professor from the University of Colombo will deal with the social effects that Substance Abuse brings about and will also deal with the Pharmacological aspects of the problem.