Helen Tanner LLB, Pgdip Dth, MARotary Peace Fellow 2012

Peacebuilder, Dramatherapist, Trainer & Project Manager
Responding creatively to the needs in schools, organisations, and communities through training, Dramatherapy, conflict resolution and arts programmes

September 2012 News

I graduated as a Rotary Peace Fellow on August 30th 2012 at a Ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand after a three month Programme at Chulalongkorn University.

The Professional Development Certificate was a wonderful complement to my MA in conflict resolution at Bradford University in 2010. It was an up to date summary and exploration of the conflict resolution field globally and we covered topics such as conflict analysis, gender and conflict, mediation and negotiation, media, non-violence, post conflict reconstruction, trauma and recovery, peace education, and religion and peacebuilding. We also undertook two field trips to northern Thailand and to Cambodia which were both inspiring and moving.

I have a new Project for Key Stage 1 & 2;
'A Journey Around Southern Africa.' Please view the Project here

Recent Stories
May 2012

In May I worked on a project 'A Journey Around Southern Africa' at Little London Primary School in Leeds, inspired by my experiences in Botswana and Southern Africa.We explored the themes of 1) Life in a rural Botswana Village 2) Botswana history, language and culture 3) The Himba, San and Herero tribes of Botswana and Namibia 4) Landscapes of southern Africa 5) Wildlife of southern Africa 6) Especially for year 6 students. We created our very own artistic and creative ceremony to celebrate transitions between primary and secondary school.

The school embraced the Project, and I worked with all of the children--180 and every class Teacher (yrs 1-6) and 6 teaching assistants.Each class teacher chose one of the 6 themes, and had a choice of creative activities that we could use to explore that theme. Each day began with a specially designed slideshow utilising original photography which i took whilst based in Botswana and Namibia. The project culminated in an hour long sharing assembly where each class shared what they had been creating and learning.

April 2012
I was asked to facilitate a workshop at the Peacejam 2012 conference in Bradford Peace Centre with young people. The theme this year was 'Breaking the cycle of violence' and I explored the theme of forgiveness. The Nobel Peace Laureate in attendance this year was Adolfo Perez Esquivel.

March 2012
The Report I compiled for the Botswana Government was completed on March 6th and handed to the Deputy Minister of Local Government.Teaching continued at Hope Mission, and the project culminated in the first ever art exhibition at the Centre. Some of the artwork is shown here with some of the children. I completed working with The Management of Hope Mission and Ark n Mark to strategise for the future of the projects.

February 2012
February was an exciting month. Helen taught children at Hope Mission on the theme of the solar system and space. She has been using art and theatre with the children. She met with William Hague, British Foreign Secretary, at Hope Mission on February 15th as part of his State visit to Botswana. There was much excitement at Hope Mission and we had a great afternoon. The work on the Report for the Botswana government continued in earnest.

January 2012
January was an extremely busy month; Ark n Mark began the year with a whole team strategic planning day facilitated by Helen. The director of Ark n Mark Masego Thamuku and Helen were then asked to participate in a Botswana Government task force set up to review a centre working with young people in conflict with the law.

December 2011
Helen attended two wilderness retreats with Ark n Mark Trust. She was reviewing the retreats and psychotherapy being offered to orphans and vulnerable children in Botswana. The retreats form part of the EARTH methodology which combines traditional approaches and rites of passage with western psychotherapy approaches. The healing takes place deep in the Botswana desert and bush where many wonderful wild animals can be observed in their natural habitat.

The festive season was spent on a 20 day tour to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Northern Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. What an honour it was to see so many natural wonders....

November 2011; I began the month directing theatre in two traditional villages in Botswana. She created a theatre script inspired by Dr Seuss story of 'The Lorax' for two tree conservation projects run by the Ark n Mark trust. The play was performed in Setswana by young people involved in tree planting projects in their villages, and also performed nationally.

I have been selected as a Rotary Peace Fellow for 2012 by Rotary International. I competed with candidates from all over the world, and will be sent to Thailand in summer 2012 to receive professional development training in practical conflict resolution to support the Rotary goal of creating a more peaceful world.

October 2011 Work is underway with Ark n Mark Trust and Hope Mission. The first stages of the work for me was to do an overall assessment of where the organisations fit into the plan of the Botswana government for care of orphans and vulnerable children, the current legislature, and good practice guidelines that exist that steer the current work.

September 2011 I left the Uk and headed to Botswana's capital city Gaborone with Skillshare International. I have been partnered with two local organisations; Ark n Mark Trust, and Hope Mission. Ark n Mark Trust have developed 16 day wilderness retreats, and 3 year follow up programmes for orphans and vulnerable children. Hope Mission is a residential faith based organisation focussed on re-schooling, re-habilitation and re-integrating street children. Helens role is both to support the organisations on a strategic and capacity building level, and in reviewing the psycho-social work being done with the children.

August 2011 I, in collaboration with Cape Uk, Little London Primary School in Leeds, and four other arts practitioners delivered a week long 'Family Festival' for families living in the local area. The week was a wonderful mix of creativity, learning, sharing, fun and performance. It was truly inspiring to be working alongside other practitioners in such a fluid and dynamic way, and to see so many adults and children alike having such a great time.

July 2011 I was invited to participate in the 2011 Summer School at Jena University Germany; 'Societies in transition; Sub-saharan Africa between Conflict and reconciliation' . I presented her recent research looking at the role of forgiveness for victims of armed conflict to 40 colleagues in the peacebuilding field from around the world.

June 2011Conflict Resolution in practice; This one day training was successfully co-delivered with Michael Fryer and Philip Barnes to a full house at Bradford University Peace Studies Department on June 10th. The day delivered core practical elements of effective conflict resolution grounded in sound academic theory. Our team draws its knowledge from psychotherapy, the business sector and peacebuilding on the ground, in Africa, Asia,Northern Ireland, Kosovo and South America.
Managing Uncertainty; This one day training took place on June 29th at Delius Arts Centre in Bradford. It was co-facilitated by Helen and Michael Fryer in partnership with Artworks Bradford. Aimed at individuals and organisations, it was an opportunity to take space and time away from it all and reflect on the impact of budget cuts and uncertainty. Structured exercises were used to enable participants to:Identify changes that were affecting them and corresponding responses to them * Reconnection to visions, goals and values * identifying concerns in bringing ideas into reality in the current climate, generating options and creating a plan of action.

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What people say about working with Helen.......

"Helen is kind and very perceptive to the needs of the children. Her art sessions have helped motivate and draw out the shy and less visible students. Helen has also assisted our management team to review our organisation's core business strategy and procedures. She facilitated the process in a very professional manner and this has finally given us a very clear vision of where we are going. I would recommend her without reservation.

Cynthia Tosu, Director Hope Mission, Bokaa, Botswana

'I have worked closely with Helen in developing the delivery of a Creative Therapy group for women with, or at risk of suffering from, post natal depression. Helen’s work in facilitating this group has resulted in some phenomenal outcomes for the women who have been referred to the group. Simple moves forward for many of the women which were unthinkable before meeting Helen. Helen is extremely professional and intuitive in the tailored care pathways which she initiates for each of the women individually. Feedback from the women within the group and the professionals that make the referrals to the group is always extremely positive.Helen, quite simply, is an amazing practitioner that is a joy to work with who I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending.
’Kirsty Jones, Childrens Centre Manager, Hayle Cornwall.
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"Helen has a profound commitment to working in the conflict resolution field which she has demonstrated both intellectually and in a series of practical engagements in peace related projects. She is exceptionally skilled and talented in bring together creative arts and drama with peacebuilding projects and in my view this culturally creative work in peacemaking will be increasingly needed and increasingly productive in international peacemaking.

Professor Tom Woodhouse, Adam Curle Chair in conflict resolution, University of Bradford

'Helen is highly professional and has made relationships of the highest calibre with children, parents and staff in our school. She has the ability to listen effectively and in an inclusive way which makes everyone feel equally valid and important.In her capacity as one of our Creative Practitioners we have seen a lot of Helen over the last three years and she has effortlessly turned what was a freelance appointment into a highly popular and effective additional member of staff--she is certainly looked on as one of our 'team'.

Mrs Jill Wood, Headteacher Little London Primary School, Leeds
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