Raizes Teatro is a non-profit organization that promotes human rights through the arts and theatre. Founded in 2020 by Alessandro Ienzi, lawyer, director, actor, and playwright, its mission is to create a global artistic voice and to transform the voices of young members of less privileged communities into the voices of young leaders.
Raizes produces artistic content inspired by true stories of human rights deprivation, freedom, and hope with the participation of young performers from all over the world who are trained in permanent atelier of Raizes, held in the cities of Palermo, Barcelona, and Paris.
Raizes also conducts training and artistic creation workshops in Asia, Africa Europe and the Americas, supporting participants in developing the necessary tools for international cultural public diplomacy.
MIGRATION
Migration and refugee rights are among the central themes of the artistic and anthropological research of Raizes.
The most relevant projects on this topic are:
“OPEN!”
A theatrical production created with the participation of Yong Di Wang, a blind Italian-Chinese musician, and Amadou Diouf, a Senegalese performer, deaf, landed in Lampedusa as an unaccompanied minor in June 2023. The performance explores human communication capabilities and has been presented at the EU Fundamental Rights Forum, the Venice School for Human Rights Defenders, the European Youth Event, and in collaboration with the Centro Astalli in Rome, and at the DiverCity Festival in Milan.
“LA PORTA DELLA VITA”
Written by Francesco Viviano, a reporter who has dedicated his research to migration flows, the play “La Porta della Vita” (The Door of Life) was adapted for the theatre by Alessandro Ienzi. The performance, which combines theatre and video exhibitions, describes four unique perspectives on migration: Austin, a young man from Niger who lands in Lampedusa after crossing the desert and sea; Atik, the captain of the Turkish cargo ship Pinar, who rescues over 140 people at sea; Florence, a young Nigerian woman lands in Lampedusa with her new-born baby girl, the result of violence suffered during her journey; an Italian Coast Guard officer tearfully recounting the difficulty of enforcing a forced pushback.
“TOGETHER WE THRIVE”
A project realized by Raizes in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration in Cairo, the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development, and the American University in Cairo. The project, open to the participation of over 100 war refugees, included a theatre workshop that guided the participants in the creation of two original theatre performances, a documentary video and a photo exhibition.
“MANIZHA TALASH”
Manizha Talash is an Afghan break-dancer who competed in the Olympics as part of the UNHCR team. Raizes played a key role in assisting her family’s safe passage from Kabul to Madrid, averting the threat of transnational repression.
“MAZAR LA ROCCA DEI DIRITTI”
A project involving over 100 unaccompanied minors in the SAI network in Mazara del Vallo, in Sicily. “La Rocca dei Diritti” (The Fortress of Rights) is a project promoted by Consorzio Hera and Solidarietà e Azione, which is leading to the creation of a theatrical performance to be presented by Raizes on World Refugee Day 2025.
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