Feature: Palestinian volunteers seek to integrate role-playing into mainstream education

RAMALLAH, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- A group of Palestinian volunteers have carried out a series of activities in hope of integrating improvisational role-playing games into mainstream education in Palestine.

The volunteers launched a program to explain Live Action Role Playing (LARP) games to the public through universities and schools in the West Bank, as "modern participatory and creative games that positively contribute to creating a unique educational environment for community members of all ages, through which participants can embody roles of given characters in a fictional world, to narrate different stories through improvisation."

"LARP is a game that doesn't call for special prerequisites. It is appropriate for all community members and all participants have central roles, which is what differentiates it from theatrical art works," they said in a statement published on their website, offering an opportunity to open constructive dialogue and addressing social and political issues to make learning easier and more fun.

Amer Kurdi, 28, has been engaged in LARP since 2012 and believes it is time to merge it in schools as an educational and learning tools.

"LARP is considered a very dynamic tool that can be used in various areas, whether educational or therapeutic," said Kurdi.

For instance, "if teachers were equipped and trained with the methods of LARP, they wouldn't be only transmitting knowledge but would also transmit life skills to their students and themselves," he explained.

So far more than 300 Palestinians have joined these LARP activities, showing a thirst for exploring new interactive art tools in daily lives.

According to Kurdi, who returned to Palestine from his study in Britain as an emerging lawyer, the beauty of LARP is its added value to the educational sector in Palestine.

"Shall LARP be integrated in the educational sector, it will change the view of children and youth toward education and help solve the problems we are facing in this sector and in life in general," he explained.

He cited Europe's experiences of merging LARP in schools which prompted higher academic achievement and personal leadership and encouraged "dialogue, productive debate, interactive learning and ability to take decisions in an open and democratic environment."

After nearly five years of playing LARP games for self-exploration, awareness and education in Palestine, Europe and the United States, Kurdi and his LARP fellows decided to establish a specialized organization named "Bait Byout," which is the also the name of a popular children's pretend game.

Founded in 2016, his organization has developed its scene learning from LARP experiences in several Scandinavian countries and synthesized it with local community.

The organization aims at providing "a learning environment for all, which is filled with love, joy, security and potential to make a positive change for individuals to contribute in building a free society using creative and critical methods," according to the official website. Enditem