Changemakers Arts Festival

London-based charity Initiatives of Change (IofC) will be hosting its inaugural Changemakers Arts Festival from Wednesday 26 to Saturday 29 October to celebrate how storytelling can be used as a catalyst for social change.

From film premieres and creative workshops to help people express their inner storyteller to a fabulous World Music evening, it promises to be an interesting few days jam-packed with positive and practical life skills.

The reconciliation charity’s curated collection of films, photography, music and performances will run alongside a series of creative workshops giving people the practical skills to make a difference in their individual businesses, communities and schools. The workshops include a theatre-based one designed for children aged 12 upwards and five other sessions that are open to those aged 16 and above.

With archive films being shown Thursday – Saturday from 10.30am – 12.30pm followed by creative workshops from 2-5pm, there will be three evening events from Wednesday – Friday starting from 6.30pm.
The theme uniting all events is how simple acts of compassion and courage can make a big difference.

The nine afternoon sessions aim to give attendees the practical skills to become everyday Changemakers within their individual businesses, communities and schools. The interactive three-hour sessions encourage peer learning and cover puppetry, inner peace and justice in motion (27 October), creative writing, family-focused healing circles and theatre (28 October) plus art, physical self-reflection and Shakespeare’s impact on personal storytelling (29 October).

Amongst the cinematic highlights of the festival will be the UK premiere of A film for Northern Uganda, which opens the festival on the Wednesday evening. This powerful 45-minute documentary - filmed on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme by Initiatives of Change - captures stories from some of the people terrorised by the Lord’s Resistance Army, the rebel group led by Josephy Kony. After two decades of human rights violations and wartime atrocities, the film chronicles how survivors are rebuilding Northern Uganda’s society through reconciliation efforts and cultural changes.