Peace Puzzle and Yalla Peace

Yalla Peace has been an ongoing two-layer project (Peace Puzzle 2011-2014 and Yalla Peace 2014- ) carried out by War Child Holland (WCH). The overall objective of the project was to provide Syrian and Lebanese students with resources and grants to initiate their own “peace action plans” and to spread their knowledge in dealing with past and present-day conflict among their communities. The project targeted approximately 10 public and private schools hosting Lebanese and Syrian students in Mount Lebanon, Beirut and the North. In general, it focused on the Lebanese-Syrian and Lebanese-Lebanese relationships among students. It aimed to raise awareness and build communities’ capacities in “conflict prevention” through several developed tools and activities. One of these activities was a theatre and performance training in collaboration with Zoukak (Association of Artists). WCH trained students to collect narratives and testimonies about the Lebanese civil war experiences, which then were handed over to Zoukak to use them in editing play scripts and to present it to the public. The projects also aimed to support and fund one of the very few existing national and multi-sectarian scouts, belonging to the Ministry of Education.