 Hi, welcome to Think Tech. We are raising public awareness on technology, energy, diversity, and globalism. This show is center stage. I am your host, Donna Blanchard, proud managing director of Kumukuhua Theatre. And we are coming to you live from Pioneer Plaza in the heart of downtown Honolulu, very near Kumukuhua Theatre. It is my pleasure to, maybe I'm the first one who gets to announce this to you. Think Tech just won award for being an outstanding broadcasting network from OC16. So congratulations to us at Think Tech. I'm happy to be a part of the crew. I'm very happy also to introduce you to my guest today. Rather than have anyone here in the studio with me, our guest is coming to us via Skype. He's in Phoenix right now, but he's from the Democratic, oh my gosh, I forgot, he's from the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo. He's a pediatrician there. The reason he's here on center stage is because he is also involved in, he uses theater to help create peace. And of course, you know, that got my radar out. Thank you very much to my good friend Laura Dooley, who introduced me to Adolfi Nyakasane. Adolfi, welcome to the show. Thank you very much, Donna. Thank you very much. It is such a pleasure to meet you. I know that Laura would not have connected us if she was not really thrilled by what you're doing. And obviously, I think you were at some event and she sent me an email saying, you have to meet this guy. You have to talk to him. And a couple of weeks later, here you are. Thank you. Thank you very much. It's my pleasure. I'm very glad to be here. So you are a Mandela Washington fellow currently. Yes. And what does that involve? Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a program of the US government launched by President Obama in 2010. And that program aims to train young African leaders who are committed to change and development in their communities. So they come to the USA for a six-week program in the US University. And they do it for Washington DC or for the presidential summit. They meet the president. They discuss with him and they learn from him. And after that, some of them are selected for an internship. So that's it. There are three different tracks in this program. And we have public management, we have civic leadership, and we have business and entrepreneurship. Those are the three tracks of this program. And I was in public management at COQ's University in New York. That's it. And now I'm doing my internship at the Bidenist Health Foundation in Tennessee in Arizona. Okay. So you are... That would an awesome opportunity for you and a responsibility for you to bring that knowledge back with you. Indeed. Yeah. What do you feel is... Indeed. I'm sure you're learning so much every day in this program. Oh, I'm sorry. You're frozen a little bit. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay. Yes. Okay. Good. I'm sorry. We might have missed your last comment there. Are you... Well, let me just ask a question. What do you feel as a part of this track is the greatest piece of knowledge that you've gained? You know, this program is really a huge opportunity for young African leaders to come to say and learn from what they do back home in their countries. For me it is a life-changing experience because I learned a lot about democracy, about leadership, about how to manage projects and development projects. And I'm really glad that, you know, I feel like I could change the world now. You know, that's it. And I can continue to learn now as I learn. Yeah. Really, it's a life-changing experience. Wow. Isn't the Democratic Republic of Congo the youngest country in the world? Can you make that up, or is that for a... Very well. You know, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country located in Central Africa. It is a very big country. It is the second biggest country in Africa, according to the size. And we have, you know, we order nine countries. So it is a strategic country also, you know, that's it. And also, it is a very rich country going through natural resources. Do you catch me? Yeah. You broke up for a little bit in the middle there, but I thank you for that, for the description. Do you feel like it is a country that is supportive of change, really ready for that kind of growth? Yes. The Democratic Republic of the Congo now is a country which is, you know, looking forward, you know, according to democracy, to development also. And let me tell you that we have, you know, a sad past in that country. That country went through dramatic situations over the 20 past years, you know, that we went through war and rebellions in that country. And now, our country is, let me say, stable and we are now looking forward, you know, for development and change. We have a past, really, which, in particular, that we should now go ahead with democracy and development. Yeah, it is really exciting. I think it is really exciting to be in your place at this time with that country moving forward. You do have a lot of amazing natural resources and it's wonderful to see your democracy taking command of that. So I would really love to hear when I wrote back to you after our initial introduction and I said that my work is centered on theater of place. You said my work is centered on theater of peace and human rights. And I just thought, oh my goodness, that is so amazing. I have never heard anyone utter those words before. Can you take us back a little bit into your, because you're a doctor. Yes. You have a scientific education and background, but here you are also involved in theater near and dear to my heart. If you were here, I would date you. How did you, when did you begin your involvement in theater? Okay, I began my work in theater in 2013. In 2013, I began. But higher than that, I would like to tell you that in 2008, I took part to an inter-university competition launched by Search for Common Ground. Search for Common Ground is a U.S. NGO involved in peace and conflict resolution in Africa. So, Search for Common Ground is launching an inter-university competition under the theme, what can we do as youth so that the great needs region may become a carbon of peace in 2025. So, that was a theme of that competition. And the competition was supported by USAID. USAID is the huge NGO from the American people. So, I took part to that competition and I wrote a proposal of 12 pages. I said what I think we should do in the great needs region. When I say the great needs region, you should understand the Congo, Rwanda and Rwanda especially. So, I proposed what we should do. And my proposal was really appreciated and I won the second peace prize in the great needs region. So, that is how I began to have this idea because in my proposal, I said that we culture, we may involve ourselves in peace in democracy. And then I decided to create the Our Lady of Peace ballot. The Our Lady of Peace ballot is a youth cultural group which advocate for peace, fraternity and peaceful coexistence among the people of the great needs region. So, that is, you know, it is based on our past, you know, a past of war and rebellion and trouble, you know, that, you know, I decided to move forward in peace. Oh, okay. Okay, let's thank you very much for that explanation and for clarifying the Great Lakes because when you say that, I think Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. So, thank you for clarifying that. I would like to hear more about your initial proposal. When we come back though, we're going to take a quick break here. All right, so you stay put, please. And you stay put also, please. We'll be back with Adolfi Nyakasane from the Democratic Republic of Congo here on center stage in just a moment. Hi, my name is Kim Lau and I'm the host of Hawaii Rising. You can watch me every other Monday at 4 p.m. I'm Jay Fidel and I'm the host of Research in Minoa Mondays from 12 to 1 on thinktecawaii.com. Take a look at us and learn about geophysics, learn about planetology, learn about the ocean and earth sciences at UH Minoa. You'll really enjoy it. So, come around. We'll see you then. For a very healthy summer, watch Viva Hawaii. We're giving you the best tips and with our best health coach here. Viva health coach. Viva la comida saludable. Aloha, my name is Danilia, D-A-N-E-L-I-A. And I'm the other half of the duo, John Newman. We are the co-hosts of Keys to Success, which is live on thinktec live streaming network series weekly on Thursdays at 11 a.m. Aloha. Aloha. Hi, we're back on thinktec, the award-winning station. Thank you OC16 for recognizing our merit here in Honolulu. I'm Donna Blanchard. This show is center stage and we are talking with a pediatrician, a doctor who is also involved in theater for peace in the Democratic Republic of Kondo, Congo, Adolphe Nyakasane. Welcome back. Thank you. Can we get down to brass tacks of what it was in your proposal that you've actually been able to move forward with, how that has worked? Can you hear me? Great. For the question, in the proposal, yes, I hear it. Great. Yes. I was saying that in my proposal, I proposed to create a cultural group and that cultural group is supposed to advocate, to strongly advocate for peace, human rights and fraternity through music, traditional dances, home and theatrical performances. That is, you know, the key idea of my proposal and what we are doing in our room, our lady of peace ballot is exactly that. It means every year we have three or five performances, a play or a show and we try to, you know, to deliver, to provide education, peace, democracy and human rights. Let me tell you that, for example, for next year we are preparing a show, a play that I composed in the time of mine when I was learning my study in Belgium with my question in the gadgets. We composed a play called, The Land Executionary is in French and it means to borrow the swallow. I hope you know the swallow, you know these birds that announced spring. Yes, you know the swallow. And the aim of this piece of theatre is to proclaim the highest need of peace and fraternity in the Great Lakes region and it involves young people from the Congo, from Rwanda and from Berlin together to hold that play. So that's what we are doing. So tomorrow this swallow means, you know, the bad time is behind us. Now let's look at the future and build a peaceful region together. Oh, wow. So, and has this actually, this has come to fruition, you have performed these pieces? Yes, you know, since 2013 every year we performed some pieces, but in one arm, wow, we performed next year, in 17th year, you know, in the capital, the capital in the main house of South Africa, South Africa is a province that is in the eastern part of it. After we found it, we shall go to Burma. Burma is also in the eastern part. Then we shall go to Chigali. Chigali is the main town in Rwanda. Then we shall go to Burma, Burma is the main town in Burma. That's it. So are you looking for any sort of measurable results from these performances? Yes, this is a very good question. Measurable results. Yes, what we would like to see is that in each region we have, you know, improved groups which begin to discuss about peace, about issues in the right, about issues in democracy. We would like to create groups of young people, young boys and young girls in every town in those countries. Groups have a reflection and thinking about peace and democracy. And we would like to reach the major part of the youngest commission in those countries. Oh, that's wonderful. That's wonderful. You know, a lot of us in art, theaters who are producing off-Broadway shows, theaters like Mine who produce shows that are all written by and about people here. Our work may be a lot more, our goals less lofty than yours, but they're all still very important. They are all about producing a recognizing community and fraternity and opening our eyes to what's going on with our neighbors sitting next to us and our neighbors across the ocean. So it just warms my heart to hear about this happening in such an important arena that you have there. So kudos to you for being a part of this, for making this happen. Now how many people, can you tell me a little bit about the organization that is making this happen? How many of you are there who is driving this with you? Okay, very good question. This brings me to tell you about my non-profit, my London non-profit, which is called Axio-Sociale Kesho Kongo. Axio-Sociale is the French sort of action. And Kesho Kongo is Swahili. Kesho Kongo means tomorrow Kongo, the future of Kongo. So in that non-profit, we are working on projects in the fields of health, education, agriculture and farming. So what we do in the field of health is a certain type of malnutrition in children under 10 years old. We also provide health education in the main radius of our town. And also we fight neonatal mortality by supporting the world worldwide. That is what we are doing in the field of health. Now in education, here we have the activities of our lady of this ballot, education to peace, education to democracy and good life. So we are a group of over 50 young girls in Bukavu, my hometown. We have a director of the old lady of this ballot. He's also a writer. You're breaking up a little bit, so I'm just going to... Okay, you broke up a little bit at the end there, so I'm just going to summarize here that you are going into various districts and you're able to bring medical help and attention and education, as well as education on community and growth and democracy, and you are able to wrap a lot of that up in the joy of music and camaraderie and dance. Yeah, yeah, that's it. And also in the field of agriculture, we are helping the rural community are empowering the rural community in supporting their activities to help them to grow their home, arise, so, so, and help them. Allow me to just tell you a little bit more about what we are doing in Calpe. Calpe is a tropical plant, a very rich in protein, you know, it is a kind of vegetable, and it is very rich in protein. So what we are doing in fighting malnutrition in children under 10 years old is to promote the cultivation of Calpe. So what we do is to grow Calpe, and then we harvest the lineage of Calpe, we crush them, then we press, we squeeze them, we collect the growing juice. The idea is to coordinate this green juice to manufacture high-coated biscuits and powder to fight malnutrition in children. This is also another way to promote peace because those children who are dying from hunger sometimes they are, once, going to become, you know, bandits, you know, in our town. Because we are helping the poor, what do we need? So we are going to be interested in that thing. So fighting malnutrition is also, you know, another way to promote peace. I just wanted to hear about what all of a sudden today is about the theater. Thank you so much. I just have about a minute left here, so I need to wrap up. But thank you very much for being with us, for telling your story, but much more than that for the work that you're doing and the light and joy that with which you are doing it, you are just a person I'm really privileged to know. Thank you very much. Thank you, Dana, thank you. I hope to stay in touch with you and who knows, maybe we can bridge the oceans and collaborate someday. Great. I'd like to see that happen. I'd also like to thank you for being here, our audience on center stage. I would like to thank a few people here who are with me. Our floor manager, Nick Sexton, who's right over there. Thank you, Nick. I'd also like to thank our studio overlord, Zuri Bender, who is in my ear. And Jay Fidel, our producer, who somehow manages to put all of this together. Congratulations on the award from OC16J. You deserve it. We will see you all next week on center stage. Bye.