When our local partner, the Yemeni House for Music & Arts implemented “Our Art is Coexistence,” they sought to enhance the role of art as an agent of change.
To do this, the organisation produced a musical theatre play that spread principles and values around coexistence through art: fostering understanding at a local level of the importance of difference and acceptance of others.
30 young male and female Yemenis were divided in three teams, the lyrical and theatrical script writing team, music and singing team and the acting team, and trained to produce the play. The diverse teams were made up of talented youth and included women, people with disabilities, internally displaced people, marginalised people as well as other disadvantaged groups. The mentees were immersed in a range of activities, from training in scripting, training in playing musical instruments, to training in singing and theatrical acting. The musical play that resulted has been presented to the public, and the show has been televised and broadcasted through Yemeni TV channels and on social media platforms.