Hout Bay High School as well as the Rainbow Dreams Trust youth club of Imizamo Yethu took part in a creative writing, performance and peace-building initiative in Noordhoek during the school holidays.
The Breaking Walls Programme brings together 24 young artists from different backgrounds to “break down” their “personal walls” and the walls between one another.
Through creating art together, the Breaking Walls artists learn a lot about themselves and unfamiliar youth cultures, enabling them to see they are not alone and to leave prejudices behind.
During the camp, which began on Wednesday October 4 and ran until Sunday, October 8, the young artists partici-
pated in several artistic activities. This year’s theme was “Changing the world one word at a
time”.
The youngsters also created a one-of-a-kind mural, depicting their thoughts with a cry out for acceptance and not just tolerance, among each other. At the culmination of the project, Breaking Walls artists performed a theatre piece together.
After expressing in writing their feelings, their home situation and their concerns for the future, their words were transformed into a script.
“These teenagers are the leaders of tomorrow”, said Breaking Walls Programme founder, Fran Tarr.
“Breaking Walls empowers youth to discover their voices and offers them a platform from which to speak in their own words.”
Dannie Kagan, founder and director of the partner organisation Rainbow Dreams Trust, said: “Here in Cape Town there is a great division between the different youth communities. By sharing each other’s stories, the young artists can learn so much about other cultures they didn’t know before. Consequently, they can spread the word in their own community, which will lead to less prejudices towards each other and a greater understanding and acceptance.”