CPArts Activities in June -July 2007

Against the backdrop of war and violence in Sri Lanka, the Centre for Performing Arts (CPArts) is trying valiantly to carry out its activities in terms of peace-building through creative arts. While engaged in activities that might be termed “healing” in the North-East, the CPArts is persevering in its efforts to bring together children, youths and women from different regions, religions and other cultural backgrounds in the South.

Some special activities during the month of December:

CPArts members celebrated CPArts Day ( 3rd of December) in different ways according to the special circumstances of different regions. In Anuradhapura, the heart of Buddhist Sri Lanka, a Peace Festival was held on 2/3 December with prayers and performances. Most CPArts Centres in the South participated. Venerable Buddhist monks numbering eighty joined in the service (pooja and dhana). Much publicity was given in the local and national media about peace and harmony. In Jaffna, where a situation of near-famine prevails, a prayer service was conducted for children and youths of the Centre and breakfast was given ( a luxury in the Jaffna Peninsula!). In Colombo, CPArts Team organized a special get-together with the orphans at Wattala Kogulam. Batticaloa CPArts celebrated the special day with the children from Handicap International. In the Vanni, CPArts children had a get-together.

Click on for pictures
Artistes from CPArts Jaffna and Colombo performed a short Folkplay on 5 December at the International Volunteers Day at the Sugadhadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo.
A special Training Programme was conducted on 13/14 December in Panadura for Children’s Theatre teachers in the South.
The bi-annual Coordinator’s Meeting was held on 16/17 December at Colombo Global Tower. Though the Coordinators and the Deputy Director from the North were unable to be present due to the impossibility of traveling to Colombo, they communicated their ideas by telephone and spoke to their counterparts at the meeting. Click on for pictures
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A Peace-camp was held for CPArts children at Avissawella on 20/21 December. One hundred children from 14 Centres participated. Nobody could come from the Jaffna Peninsula. CPArts Director addressed the children on the second day on the necessity of fostering friendship and harmony. Click on for pictures
Ilavalai CPArts organized a Tsunami and Peace Programme on 23 December in which more than 300 members took part. There was also a large gathering of people from the area. Tsunami and Peace programmes were also conducted by Batticaloa, Matara and Mannar CPArts Centres. In Matara, about 110 children amd youth participated and in Mannar, about 400 children from eleven surrounding villages participated.
The Jaffna CPArts organized a religio-cultural programme on 28 December in which more than 250 children took part. One outsider commented that it was a “programme well-suited to help traumatized children and youth”.
Other Centres such as Ratnapura and Kandy CPArts are also planning to hold Peace-camps on the 30th and 31st of December.
Nearly fifty CPArts children with their Coordinators from Panadura and Avissawella are in South India taking part in an international Sports Festival at the Egmore Stadium in Chennai. CPArts children were invited to the Festival to perform Sri Lankan Dances.
Please visit our website (www.cpartsteam.com) for some interesting and captivating photos. Also: there is an article on our Director in our web which appeared in one of the English National Dailies to mark his 67th birthday. NEWS

Finally, we wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

		A short Report of Activities for the month of December




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	Against the backdrop of war and violence in Sri Lanka, the Centre for Performing Arts (CPArts) is trying valiantly to carry out its activities in terms of peace-building through creative arts. While engaged in activities that might be termed “healing” in the North-East, the CPArts is persevering in its efforts to bring together children, youths and women from different regions, religions and other cultural backgrounds in the South. Some special activities during the month of December: CPArts members celebrated CPArts Day ( 3rd of December) in different ways according to the special circumstances of different regions. In Anuradhapura, the heart of Buddhist Sri Lanka, a Peace Festival was held on 2/3 December with prayers and performances. Most CPArts Centres in the South participated. Venerable Buddhist monks numbering eighty joined in the service (pooja and dhana). Much publicity was given in the local and national media about peace and harmony. In Jaffna, where a situation of near-famine prevails, a prayer service was conducted for children and youths of the Centre and breakfast was given ( a luxury in the Jaffna Peninsula!). In Colombo, CPArts Team organized a special get-together with the orphans at Wattala Kogulam. Batticaloa CPArts celebrated the special day with the children from Handicap International. In the Vanni, CPArts children had a get-together. Click on for pictures Artistes from CPArts Jaffna and Colombo performed a short Folkplay on 5 December at the International Volunteers Day at the Sugadhadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo. A special Training Programme was conducted on 13/14 December in Panadura for Children’s Theatre teachers in the South. The bi-annual Coordinator’s Meeting was held on 16/17 December at Colombo Global Tower. Though the Coordinators and the Deputy Director from the North were unable to be present due to the impossibility of traveling to Colombo, they communicated their ideas by telephone and spoke to their counterparts at the meeting. Click on for pictures ] A Peace-camp was held for CPArts children at Avissawella on 20/21 December. One hundred children from 14 Centres participated. Nobody could come from the Jaffna Peninsula. CPArts Director addressed the children on the second day on the necessity of fostering friendship and harmony. Click on for pictures Ilavalai CPArts organized a Tsunami and Peace Programme on 23 December in which more than 300 members took part. There was also a large gathering of people from the area. Tsunami and Peace programmes were also conducted by Batticaloa, Matara and Mannar CPArts Centres. In Matara, about 110 children amd youth participated and in Mannar, about 400 children from eleven surrounding villages participated. The Jaffna CPArts organized a religio-cultural programme on 28 December in which more than 250 children took part. One outsider commented that it was a “programme well-suited to help traumatized children and youth”. Other Centres such as Ratnapura and Kandy CPArts are also planning to hold Peace-camps on the 30th and 31st of December. Nearly fifty CPArts children with their Coordinators from Panadura and Avissawella are in South India taking part in an international Sports Festival at the Egmore Stadium in Chennai. CPArts children were invited to the Festival to perform Sri Lankan Dances. Please visit our website (www.cpartsteam.com) for some interesting and captivating photos. Also: there is an article on our Director in our web which appeared in one of the English National Dailies to mark his 67th birthday. NEWS Finally, we wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! Report by CPArts Team