PROGRAM SUMMARY

Transforming Hostility into Friendship - Peace Through Art
By Lydia Gizdavcic, Program Manager (lydia@icaf.org)

In an age where advances in science and technology have led to the development of devastating weaponry, the International Child Art Foundation (ICAF) spent three weeks in July "arming" young people with paint brushes and plaster to combat the fear and hostility felt between the Greek and Turkish sections of Cyprus. The Peace Through Art program, designed to foster peace between neighboring communities, was a collaborative effort between ICAF, the psychology departments of the University of Virginia and Yale University, the Fulbright Commission of Cyprus and well known artists and art therapists.

Ten Greek and ten Turkish Cypriots, aged 14 to 16 came from opposite sides of the island, divided since 1974, to Washington, DC to learn about each other through the medium of art. In the process they also learned mutual understanding and cooperation. The artistically gifted young teenagers were chosen as future leaders to put aside the hostilities of preceding generations and form new friendships across formerly impenetrable borders. Blessed with creative and inquisitive natures, they learned through collaborative and individual art projects to explore the "other side" as well as themselves. The program modules included mural and silk painting, portraiture and mask making, folk dancing, batik, and leadership training. The sessions run by the psychologists also used art to teach self awareness and conflict resolution.

ICAF organized the peace education and art workshops into the following five modules: Learning through Experience, where participants learn to understand their response to conscious and subconscious resistance and trauma; Conflicts and Ethics, where they learn the reasons for conflict and alternate methods to alleviate tension; Role Models for Society, where they learn the importance of building a civil and democratic society; and Creativity for Peace, where they learned how to use the arts to build self-esteem and confidence through individual expression and collaboration.

The results of ICAF's approach were heartwarming. "Back there I didn't think we could live together because we don't have chances to make friends. We're here proving we can," commented a Turkish Cypriot boy. And from a Greek Cypriot girl: "This program has made some dreams to come true and some others to start to come true." The final evaluation forms indicated that every single student rated the overall experience as a success, and the group spent the last morning writing to their two Presidents for permission to meet again.

The three weeks spent in Washington, DC was only the beginning of their work. It gave them the chance to see that they can make a difference if they take the initiative. An important part of the methodology is to ensure that they continue to make progress once back home. ICAF paired Turks and Greeks and urged them to communicate at least every other week. The Fulbright Commission also hopes to organize meetings for them at the Fulbright House in the neutral zone. The hope for the future is strong and well summarized by the remarks of a Greek Cypriot boy. "Open your heart, he said, "open your mind, and let the love lead you to pathways of peace." Peace through Art shows that the power of creativity can show the future leaders the pathways to a cooperative future.