Dina Kaplan facilitated this leadership training which took place at the Instituto Santiago, a boarding school for indigenous young boys who received a scholarship for their outstanding academic achievement. The boys come from various towns from the highlands of Guatemala. Thirty participating boys ranged in ages between 15 and 17 years.
The group played inclusive drama games and explored how conflict can be expressed in a story. Groups created personal stories, built beautiful, creative puppets, and then presented them through puppet scenes.
The boys responded positively and shared that they had no idea puppetry and theater could be so interesting and not only for children. They learned that they could use this visual storytelling in their communities to educate and address social issues like bullying or violence. The boys felt comfortable to open up and share personal stories.
Feedback from the boys included:
"I never knew that Puppetry existed and that stories can have so much in them"
"I will use this in my community"
"I will use this when I teach one day."
"Thank you for a very special experience workshop in Guatemala."
Thank you to Israeli Foreign Ministry Dept. of Cultural Exchange.