Unite As One Campaign

Here's an overview of our new project. However, we're still waiting for the contract to be signed, so I guess its the tentative plan. Hopefully the donors send the contract through by the end of the month, so we can really get started!

The Unite As One campaign school project will focus on 20 schools in the greater Cape Town area. Continuing from the past year’s campaign, the purpose is to reach young persons (grade 9 and/or 10) focusing on human rights and an appreciation for cultural diversity. The school project will involve various organizations to promote cultural diversity through film making, documentary screenings, cultural diversity workshops, murals, soccer tournament, Ambush Theater, and a World Refugee Day awareness event.

In two of the 20 schools there will be a film making training implemented to 15 students. This training will include media skills, storytelling and cultural diversity workshops. The end result will be 5 documentaries (each 5 minutes long), exploring different aspects of cultural diversity and identity, from differing perspectives.

All 20 schools will receive 2 documentary screenings, in coordination with STEPS for the Future. Each documentary screening will be implemented by trained facilitators, including a discussion and question session after each film focusing on positive aspects of cultural diversity. The first documentary will act as a general opening to the campaign, facilitating discussion about the issues, raising awareness about the campaign. The second film will follow within 6 months, and will focus on identity, again facilitating discussion and positive aspects of diversity.

In 12 of the schools (10 around Cape Town and 2 in De Doorns), the Institute for Healing of Memories (IHOM) will conduct Cultural Diversity Workshops. Each of these 12 schools will receive 3 workshops, taking place in between the two documentary screenings. These three workshops will revolve around elements of cultural diversity, through learning about South Africa’s past, along with discussion and activities.

In 10 of the 20 schools, murals will be painted with the students. Through these murals, we seek to promote discussion and interaction about refugee rights and positive aspects of cultural diversity in each community. The murals will be the same design in each school, bringing a visible aspect of unity amongst all schools involved. These murals will be in highly visible places (ie. The front of the school) to promote the Unite As One message of unity.

A soccer tournament will take place in June. The teams will be comprised of both foreign nationals and South Africans, to help increase interaction and promote cultural diversity through sport. Before the tournament, anti-xenophobia workshops and activities will take place, promoting unity.

For the Ambush Theater performances, these will occur once per week throughout the campaign, in the communities involved in the project. This theater troop will perform drama scenes in public places, (train stations, busy streets, taxis, shopping malls, ect.) to the unsuspecting public. These dramas will focus on educating people about violence and human rights, as well as xenophobia. These performances will help involve the greater community around the schools.

This project will also include an awareness day event for World Refugee Day, here at the Scalabrini Center. This event will celebrate cultural diversity and refugee rights through musical performances by Driemanskap (hip hop artists), Congo my Foot (kwasa kwasa), KIAT (from Zimbabwe), and a South African Marimba Band. These performances will be followed by an open mic session, where ideas and community voices can be heard. This project will combine all of these mediums to spread the message of unity and support for cultural diversity.