Seattle Program > Social Justice & Education > Social Justice

The Leadership Training Program educates and trains students in cross-cultural understanding, fundraising, and social action. It empowers students to take the crucial steps to eliminate racism and social inequalities both at home and abroad.

The Pro-Justice Workshop

The workshop, which is part of Culture Nights and the first retreat, allows students to start talking about injustices in our communities and world and find ways to be advocates for justice and peace. Students share their own experiences and thoughts about racism, sexism, classism, imperialism, and ageism. They ask hard questions and discuss how they can live according to their beliefs and values. Youth Board Students lead this workshop which enables students to have an open and honest dialogue since facilitators and participants are peers.

The workshop features many interactive theater and other anti-oppression techniques. As created by Brazilian visionary, Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed (T.O.) is a form of popular community based education which uses theater as a tool for transformation. Originally developed out of Boal's work with peasant and worker populations, it is now used all over the world for social and political activism, conflict resolution, community building, therapy, and government.

Other techniques include: Image Theatre, a series of physical exercises and games designed to uncover essential truths about society, culture, self, etc; Forum Theatre, a problem solving technique in which an unresolved scene of oppression is presented, replayed with the audience invited to stop the action, replace the character they feel is lacking power, and improvise solutions; The Cop in the Head, techniques which help individuals explore the internal voices, fears, oppressions which prevent him/her from living fully; and The Rainbow of Desire, a technique which deconstructs one person's story of tension in a relationship - parent/child, employer/employee, lovers, friends, etc.

Youth Board Students lead this workshop with the guidance of trained Anti-Oppression facilitators Marc Weinblatt and Cheryl Harrison, both from Mandala for Change. Marc has been a professional educator, artist, activist, and workshop facilitator since 1980 having extensive experience with both adults and youth. Formerly Artistic Director at the Seattle Public Theater, Marc is an internationally recognized leader in the use of Augusto Boal's ground breaking Theater of the Oppressed. Also a former member of Seattle Public Theater's Theater of Liberation Ensemble, Cheryl has been active in anti-oppression and empowerment work with youth and adults for 15 years. Using music, theater, lectures, and workshops, Cheryl has led events for various state, local, national and international organizations.

For more information about Mandala for Change, see www.mandalaforchange.com