Project Summary
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, Barbados), in their on-going work in the area of Citizen Security throughout the Caribbean region, sought to implement a youth dialogue initiative for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Dominica and St. Kitts. This initiative focused on collecting youth perspectives with relation to issues of crime, child abuse, drug-abuse, the illicit drug trade and domestic violence. Arts-in-Action, as an Applied Creative Arts Consultancy and Caribbean partner to UNDP both in Trinidad and Barbados, was invited to lead the workshop which served as the vehicle for this dialogue initiative.
Arts-in-Action using the citizen security reports and other UNDP supplied information, designed and implemented a day-long Applied Theatre Workshop which sought, on one hand, to provide a situational framing to create the parameters for participant engagement and feedback. Additionally, the workshop focused on a need to address issues of child abuse (incest and other abuse), domestic violence as it pertains to spousal and partner violence against wives (including common-law arrangements) and girlfriends and the relationship between unemployment, economic vulnerability and crime, especially criminal activity related to the illicit drug trade and gang activity.
The workshop also attempted to build target group capacity to communicate their own perspectives as they related to approaches to crime and violence in their communities and endeavoured to share relevant information with respect to available support/developmental/crisis response services for youths in these Caribbean countries.