![Paper hats with various roles written on them including police and child](https://www.mmu.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/page_header_half/public/2021-01/DRC%20verbal%20arts%20header.png?h=e59f7b6f&itok=5BU4Ecja)
Poetry and Plays in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Part of the AHRC/GCRF funded Belonging and Learning Network Project.
Research details
This two-day workshop was led by Faustin Muliri, a poet and playwright based in Bukavu, in collaboration with Thomas D’Aquin Rubambura from PEDER.
PEDER support street-connected young people in Bukavu and invited 12 young people to participate in the workshop.
The young people invited to participate in the workshop were approached because they are interested in drama and music. They joined practitioners (mainly social workers and teachers) and policy makers from Bukavu and Goma to discuss their right to education and the barriers they face to access.
Using the discussion and their own experiences as inspiration, the adults and young people were split into groups to co-produce their own responses in poetry or short dramas.
![Drafts of poems written in the project workshop](/sites/default/files/styles/1440px/public/2021-01/DRC%20poetry.png?itok=X1dgvNOW)
![A verse of a poem being drafted in the project workshop](/sites/default/files/styles/1440px/public/2021-01/DRC%20poetry%20verse.png?itok=cZejwYRe)
Working with
![Logo of PEDER (Programme D’Encadrement Des Enfants De La Rue)](/sites/default/files/styles/logo_scalable/public/2021-01/PEDER.png?itok=PQYN_O0m)