“How would you solve this issue?“, this was what the teachers were asked while they were watching a theater scene showing a current problem that the students in their school are facing. Then, instead of an audience, the teachers became actors. Appearing on the stage in the role of students, they gave their own ideas and contributions to resolving the given problem.
All this was part of the three-day training for a forum theater held from February 25-28, 2018 in Skopje, which was attended by teachers from 8 secondary schools throughout the country. Through the training, the teachers learned how to use theater as a tool to encourage students to think about constructive solutions to the social problems they face, but also to take an active role in resolving them.
In the coming period, teachers will be able to use the acquired skills in their work with the students, organizing forum theaters on topics that affect their school and community. Students will have the opportunity to publicly share their views, opinions and ideas, because the forum theater is a tool which enables active involvement of the audience.
The purpose of these activities is not to offer students the perfect solutions to the given problems. On the contrary, the forum theater can be regarded as a platform for the students to independently propose and test a number of different solutions. In this way, they are trained to practice democratic values – to express their opinion and respect the opinion of others, to jointly make decisions and take actions for positive social changes.
This activity is part of the Youth Ethnic Integration Project, funded by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
This article is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of MCEC and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
