Original language: Hungarian

The focus of our project called “Do you see what I see?” is to make a difference to create a world where people notice when someone is a victim of oppression or hate speech and speak out against it. We realise that nowadays we are bombarded with information every moment and, in order to “survive”, we have raised our level of tolerance: we avert our eyes, plug up our ears and shut our mouths even if someone really needs us to raise our voice against oppression.

We want to break through this wall and believe that the more there are of us the easier it will be to do. In our “Do you see what I see?” project, we apply interactive theatre techniques to involve people in the street in an exciting and educational experiment. 

The series of events are aimed at using theatre and its resources and possibilities as part of a learning process to engage with society, and ourselves, test strategies that can bring about social change for the benefit of the community, encourage active engagement and improve our personalities.

We are committed to help create a society where human rights are recognised, respected and protected by all members of the community. Working with the invisible theatre method, we want to use theatre and its resources to engage with local society and effect positive social change for the benefit of local communities through the project.

We believe that the ability to change is in all of us so anyone can become an everyday hero.

The project involves actors and volunteers of Non-Private Theater enacting different conflict scenarios at busy places to explore topics concerning hate speech and various manifestations of oppression, encouraging the audience to get actively involved and take a stand against their fellow human beings being treated negatively based on their gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs or sexual orientation.  

The project expects the audience to actively participate, creating a conflict scenario played out by insider actors until a brave everyday hero, a kind observer, intervenes. As a result, he or she will be applauded and hailed as a hero. In addition to raising awareness, the project focuses on bringing about social change for the benefit of the community by prompting people to overcome apathy through personal development.

Source: Tudatos Ifjúságért Alapítvány (Foundation for Youth Awareness, Hungary)