Voyage

In May 2009, Sri Lanka's government declared victory in its 26-year war with Tamil Tiger rebels who were fighting for a separate homeland. It was one of the world's bloodiest and longest-running civil wars and it left parts of the island devastated. To date, there are over 500,000 IDPs (Internally Displaced People's) living in the north of the country waiting to return to their villages.

Jana Karaliya, Theatre of the People, brings together youths from the two main ethnic groups, the Sinhalese and Tamils, to form a theatre group which stages plays in front of their respective communities marooned in various refugee camps. Through the use of Forum Theatre, the youths are re-educating communities about the underlying causes of the conflict and equipping them with the tools to overcome lingering ethnic tensions.

Highlight:

The theatre performances reached a total of three million Sinhalese and Tamils.