Indicvidual Peace Plan Chisomo Nyamalikiti Nthiwatiwa Mdalla

Malawi

April 24, 2014.

The work answers to the issue of economic insecurity

Especially as it affects youth in high-density urban locations

Malawi is relatively a young country, demographically speaking: 65% are youth and children between 0-25 yrs (indexmundi.com, 2013)

50.6% below poverty line Unemployment rate of 15.3 % There is no minimum age for parliamentary

office but in the parliament of 2009-2014 only 7 of the 193 legislators were of/below the age of 35

2014 widely held as a watershed year Malawi attains 50 years of self-rule

20 years of democracy First-time voters for those born in 1994

and after Youth vote estimated at 64% Rising voices demanding new vision for

the country for the next 50 years Youth underrepresented in decision

making positions, and they themselves feel their voices are not heard in economic matters (National Youth Council 2014 AGA)

Ghetto/slam in Lilongwe The closest slam to city centre but one

of its most volatile and poorest Total population estimated at about

80,000 for an area of 8 sq. km

To curate the economic aspirations of ghetto youth for the next 50 years

OUTCOME

Collaborative Performance Poetry A growing genre of art in Malawi Very personal Highly accessible in language and

versatility of performance Popular among the Youth and the adult

population both in terms of practitioners and audience

30 minute collaborative piece of performance poetry where every participant writes his aspiration in a stanza and we collate

June –August 2014 Research and Workshopping

August-October 2014 perfomance Target Audience : Primarily: the youth in the ghetto of Mchesi members of parliament , National

Commission for Economic Development, CSOs working with youth, and in Economic Rights