S1, E4 Acting with a social purpose
In this podcast, MSc student in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies Maria Harb meets two inspirational women - Victoria Lupton and Fida Alwaer. Victoria has been living in Lebanon for the past 10 years and is the co-founder of Seenaryo, a leading specialist in theatre and play-based learning with marginalized communities in Lebanon and Jordan - in particular refugee communities. Fida was forcibly displaced from her home country Syria and arrived in Lebanon in 2012. In 2017, she began as a participant in a Seenaryo youth theater project and has since worked as a facilitator on many different Seenaryo projects after undergoing Seenaryo’s theatre leadership training.
In this podcast, MSc student in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies Maria Harb meets two inspirational women - Victoria Lupton and Fida Alwaer. Victoria has been living in Lebanon for the past 10 years and is the co-founder of Seenaryo, a leading specialist in theatre and play-based learning with marginalized communities in Lebanon and Jordan - in particular refugee communities. Fida was forcibly displaced from her home country Syria and arrived in Lebanon in 2012. In 2017, she began as a participant in a Seenaryo youth theater project and has since worked as a facilitator on many different Seenaryo projects after undergoing Seenaryo’s theatre leadership training.
Victoria talks us through how Seenaryo came to be and how the organisation continues to navigate the different crises in the country. She also explores the issue of NGOs focusing solely on the refugee population and how it can risk intensifying tensions between host and refugee communities.
Fida talks to us about how her involvement in Seenaryo’s theater projects allowed her to learn about the stories of other asylum seekers in Lebanon and to share her own story. She also tells us about how through the different theater projects, her voice was amplified, and she could openly express her experiences with different issues including single motherhood.