Day 1 of the Youth Leadership Development Program in Gurgaon started with a review of the group. The group varied in experience and knowledge of Play for Peace, even though many had participated in a Play for Peace training before, and surprisingly none of them were able to describe what a ‘Practice Peace Session’ was. Using the ever-valuable tool of music, training started with a song. They were then told to write down their intent to underline the importance of going through experiences with an intention. Experiences and the resulting success are impacted by fears that one assumes as weakness, and as a further exercise, participants wrote down their fears and discussed them in small groups. The group then looked at what they themselves had experienced and were introduced to the metaphor of weather which they applied to their stories. In small groups, one story was chosen, and they were instructed to create a rap.
Day 2 started with Gurinder, a Dalit poet, youth mentor, filmmaker, and human rights activist. He asked a series of questions and stated that many things are taken for granted. Many questions were offered to participants, and Gurinder focused on triggering a sense of inquiry and curiosity. He then asked them to relate ‘India’ to ‘Pakistan’, which drew many biased and narrow views from the participants. Subsequent discussion drove the participants that peacemakers cannot be subject to such bias.
Day 3 was one of self-evaluation. Participants reflected on how their experience with Play for Peace had affected them as a person. The changes they saw within themselves can primarily be seen in the frame of systemic and incremental change and the frame of life skills. Following this exercise, participants were shown a couple of short videos that offered a perspective on education and the school system. This opened up a discussion on participants’ education and schools where some had experienced discriminatory practices and physical abuse. The day finished with a session aimed at helping them connect their dreams with their actions.
On Day 4, participants finally performed their raps, and again the power of song was used to bring the participants together. The last session tackled views on gender and social justice. The idea of social patriarchy was analyzed, and a boy later came to share how relieved he was after receiving information on this subject. The day finished with participants outlining an action plan to take what they learned and bring it to their communities.
