ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Adong Judith - Playwright, filmmaker
Adong Judith uses art as a vehicle to drive social change and trains aspiring makers to create art that dares to ask serious questions.

Why you should listen

Founder and artistic director of Silent Voices Uganda, a nonprofit performing arts company, Adong Judith creates art that provokes meaningful conversation on issues often considered taboo.

Notable among her training programs is the annual Summer Theater Directors Apprenticeship, a two-tier program that combines production and training of ten aspiring theater directors. Originally only for Ugandans, Judith has opened the 2018 and future apprenticeships to aspiring theater directors across the African continent, who she believes share the same challenges in practicum gaps.

In 2018, Judith will be in residence at Illinois State University, where she will direct her 2016 social media buzz-stirring play, Ga-AD!, which explores spirituality and the place of women in Pentecostal churches. Her first social change play, Silent Voices, which she wrote after accidentally encountering the inescapable stories of war crime victims in her hometown of Gulu, developed at Sundance Institute’s Theater Lab, received its world premiere in 2012 at the National Theater of Uganda and was described by the Ugandan media as "the spiritual rebirth of theater since its decline due to political persecution of artists by the Idi Amin regime."

Adong’s plays are taught at Ivy League Universities including Dartmouth College and Princeton University, and she recently signed a contract with Methuen Publishers UK to publish Silent Voices in an anthology of Contemporary African Women Playwrights.

More profile about the speaker
Adong Judith | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2017

Adong Judith: How I use art to bridge misunderstanding

Adong Judith: Art per desfer malentesos

Filmed:
1,006,269 views

La directora i guionista, Adong Judith, crea art provocador que obre el diàleg sobre temes que abasten des dels drets LGBTQ als crims de guerra. En aquesta breu però potent xerrada, la membre de TED descriu detalladament el seu treball, inclosa la seva obra “Veus silencioses” que va portar a les víctimes de la guerra del Nord d'Uganda contra el grup rebel de Joseph Kony a reunir-se amb líders polítics, religiosos i culturals en xerrades transformadores. “Escoltar als altres no resol de forma màgica tots els problemes”, diu la Judith, “però t'ofereix l'oportunitat de crear camins per començar a treballar junts per resoldre molts dels problemes de la humanitat”.
- Playwright, filmmaker
Adong Judith uses art as a vehicle to drive social change and trains aspiring makers to create art that dares to ask serious questions. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I'm a writer-directorescriptor i director
who tellsli diu social-changecanvi social storieshistòries,
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Sóc autora-directora
d'històries de canvi social,
00:16
because I believe storieshistòries
touchtocar and movemoure's us.
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perquè crec en les històries
que ens arriben i emocionen
00:20
StoriesHistòries humanizeHumanitzar
and teachensenyar us to empathizeempatitzar.
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Les històries ens humanitzen
i ens ensenyen empatia.
00:23
StoriesHistòries changecanviar us.
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Les històries ens canvien.
00:26
When I writeescriure and directdirecte playsjuga,
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Quan escric i dirigeixo obres,
00:28
I'm amplifyingamplificar voicesveus
of disadvantageddesfavorits groupsgrups,
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amplifico les veus
dels grups desfavorits,
00:31
I'm fightinglluitant the self-censorshipl'autocensura
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lluito contra l'autocensura
00:33
that has keptmantingut manymolts UgandanUgandès artistsartistes
away from socialsocial, politicalpolític theaterteatre
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que ha apartat a molts artistes
d'Uganda del teatre social i polític
00:38
sincedes de llavors the persecutionpersecució of artistsartistes
by formerantic UgandanUgandès presidentpresident, IdiIDI AminAmin.
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des que l'antic president Idi Amin
va perseguir als artistes.
00:44
And mostla majoria importantlyimportant,
I am breakingtrencament the silencesilenci
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I el que és més important,
trenco el silenci
00:48
and provokingprovocant meaningfulsignificatiu
conversationsconverses on tabootabú issuesproblemes,
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i provoco diàlegs
importants sobre temes tabú,
00:52
where oftensovint "SilenceSilenci is goldendaurat"
is the ruleregla of thumbpolze.
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on la norma sol ser
"el silenci és sagrat".
00:57
ConversationsConverses are importantimportant
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Els diàlegs són importants
00:59
because they informinformar
and challengedesafiament our mindsments to think,
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perquè ens informen
i ens desafien a pensar,
01:03
and changecanviar startscomença with thinkingpensant.
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i el canvi comença pensant.
01:06
One of my struggleslluites with activismactivisme
is its oftensovint one-sidedunilateral naturenaturalesa
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Un dels meus problemes amb l'activisme
és la seva naturalesa unilateral
01:11
that blindsPersianes us to alternativealternativa viewveure,
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que ens impedeix una visió alternativa,
01:14
that numbsadormiment our empathyempatia,
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anul·la la nostra empatia,
01:16
that makesfa us viewveure those
who see issuesproblemes differentlyde manera diferent
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i ens fa veure als que veuen les
coses d'una altra manera
01:19
as ignorantignorant, self-hatingAuto-odiant a, brainwashedrentat el cervell,
selloutrealitzar or plainplana stupidestúpid.
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com a ignorants, descerebrats, venuts,
o simplement estúpids.
01:26
I believe no one is ignorantignorant.
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Jo crec que ningú és ignorant.
01:29
We are all expertsexperts,
only in differentdiferent fieldscamps.
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Tots som experts
però en camps diferents.
01:34
And this is why, for me, the sayingdient
"stayquedar-se in your truthveritat" is misleadingenganyosa.
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I per això, per a mi la dita
"sigues fidel a la teva veritat" confon.
01:40
Because if you're stayingquedant-se in your truthveritat,
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Perquè si ets fidel a la teva veritat,
01:42
isn't it logicallògic that the personpersona
you believe is wrongmal
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no és lògic que la persona
que creus equivocada
01:45
is alsotambé stayingquedant-se in theirels seus truthveritat?
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també sigui fidel a la seva veritat?
01:48
So, what you have is two extremesextrems
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Així doncs, aquí tenim dos extrems,
01:51
that shuttancat out all possiblepossible
avenuesavingudes of conversationsconverses.
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que tanquen tots els camins
possibles per al diàleg.
01:56
I createcrear provocativeprovocatiu theaterteatre and filmpel·lícula
to touchtocar, humanizeHumanitzar
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Jo faig teatre i cinema provocatiu
per emocionar, humanitzar
02:01
and movemoure's disagreeingen desacord partiesfesta
to the conversationconversa tabletaula
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i portar a les parts en desacord
a la taula de diàleg
02:06
to bridgepont misunderstandingsmalentesos.
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per desfer malentesos.
02:09
I know that listeningescoltant to one anotherun altre
will not magicallymàgicament solveresoldre all problemsproblemes.
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Sé que escoltar als altres no resoldrà
de forma màgica tots els problemes.
02:15
But it will give a chanceoportunitat
to createcrear avenuesavingudes
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Però obrirà l'oportunitat
de crear camins
02:17
to startcomençar to work togetherjunts to solveresoldre
manymolts of humanity'sla humanitat problemsproblemes.
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per començar a treballar junts i resoldre
els problemes de la humanitat.
02:22
With my first playjugar, "SilentSilenciós VoicesVeus,"
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En la meva obra "Veus silencioses",
02:25
basedbasat on interviewsentrevistes with victimsvíctimes
of the NorthernNord UgandaUganda warguerra
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basada en entrevistes amb víctimes
de la guerra del Nord d'Uganda
02:28
betweenentre the governmentgovern
and JosephJoseph Kony'sDe Kony LRALRA rebelrebel groupgrup,
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entre el govern i el grup rebel
LRA de Joseph Kony
02:32
I broughtportat togetherjunts victimsvíctimes,
politicalpolític leaderslíders, religiousreligiosa leaderslíders,
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vaig poder reunir a víctimes,
líders polítics, líders religiosos,
02:37
culturalcultural leaderslíders, the AmnestyAmnistia CommissionComissió
and transitionaltransicional justicejustícia leadershiplideratge
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líders culturals, la Comissió d'Amnistia
i líders de justícia transitòria
02:42
for criticalcrític conversationsconverses on issuesproblemes
of justicejustícia for warguerra crimecrim victimsvíctimes --
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en diàlegs crítics sobre justícia
per a les víctimes de crims de guerra.
02:48
the first of its kindamable
in the historyhistòria of UgandaUganda.
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La primera d'aquest tipus
en la història d'Uganda.
02:51
And so manymolts powerfulpotent things happenedsucceït,
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I van passar tantes coses importants,
02:54
that I can't even
coverportada them all right now.
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que no puc descriure-les totes
en aquest moment.
02:57
VictimsVíctimes were givendonat the opportunityoportunitat
to sitseure at the tabletaula
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Les víctimes van tenir l'oportunitat
d'asseure's a la taula
03:01
with AmnestyAmnistia CommissionComissió leadershiplideratge,
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amb líders de la Comissió d'Amnistia
03:03
and they expressedexpressat
the biggran injusticeinjustícia they sufferedpatit
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i d'expressar
la gran injustícia que van patir
03:07
when the CommissionComissió ignoredignorat them
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quan la Comissió els va ignorar
03:09
and insteaden canvi facilitatedfacilitat the resettlementreassentament
of the warguerra perpetratorsautors.
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i va facilitar el reassentament
dels responsables de la guerra.
03:15
And the AmnestyAmnistia CommissionComissió
acknowledgedreconegut the victims'víctimes paindolor
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La Comissió d'Amnistia
va reconèixer el sofriment de les víctimes
03:19
and explainedexplicat the thinkingpensant
behinddarrere theirels seus flaweddeficient approachesenfocaments.
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i va explicar les idees en què es basaven
les seves tàctiques errònies.
03:24
But one of the things
that has stayedes va quedar with me
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Una de les coses
que no puc oblidar
03:26
is when, duringdurant my NorthernNord UgandaUganda
tourgira of the playjugar,
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és quan en un tour de la meva obra
pel Nord d'Uganda,
03:30
a man approachedes va acostar me and introducedintroduït himselfa si mateix
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se'm va acostar un home
que es va presentar
03:33
as a formerantic rebelrebel soldersoldadura of JosephJoseph KonyKony.
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com un ex-soldat rebel de Joseph Kony.
03:37
He told me that he didn't want me to leavesortir
feelingsensació disappointeddecebut,
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Em va dir que no volia que marxés
decebuda,
03:41
duevençut to some of what I consideredconsiderat
inappropriateinadequat laughterriure.
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perquè jo havia considerat
els seus riures inadequats.
03:45
He explainedexplicat that his
was a laughterriure of embarrassmentvergonya
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Em va explicar que
reia de vergonya
03:50
and a recognitionreconeixement
of his ownpropi embarrassmentvergonya.
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i per reconèixer
la seva pròpia vergonya.
03:53
He saw himselfa si mateix in the actorsactors onstagel'escenari
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Es va veure a si mateix en els actors
03:57
and saw the meaninglessnesssentit
of his pastpassat actionsaccions.
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i va veure l'absurditat
de tots els seus actes previs.
04:02
So I say: shareCompartir your truthsveritats.
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Per això dic: Comparteix
les teves veritats.
04:05
Listen to one another'sun altre de truthsveritats.
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Escolta la veritat de l'altre.
04:08
You will discoverdescobreix
a more powerfullypoderosament unitingunint truthveritat
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Descobriràs una veritat
més poderosa que uneix
04:11
in the middlemig groundterra.
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a mitjan camí.
04:14
When I livedvivia in the USAEUA,
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Quan vivia als EUA,
04:16
manymolts of my AmericanNord-americà friendsamics
would be shockedsorprès at my ignoranceignorància
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a molts amics americans
els sorprenia que desconegués
04:19
at fancyluxós WesternWestern dishesplats
like lasagnaLasanya, for instanceinstància.
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plats occidentals boníssims
com la lasanya.
04:23
(LaughterRiure)
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(Riures)
04:24
And my questionpregunta to them would be,
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I jo els preguntava,
04:27
"Well, do you know malakwangmalakwang?"
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"Coneixeu el malakwang?"
04:29
And then I would tell them
about malakwangmalakwang,
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I llavors els parlava
sobre el malakwang,
04:32
a fancyluxós vegetablevegetal dishplat from my culturecultura.
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un plat de verdures de la meva cultura.
04:36
And they would tell me about lasagnaLasanya.
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I ells em parlaven de la lasanya.
04:38
And we would leavesortir
richermés ric and fullermés completa individualsindividus.
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I en marxar erem persones
més riques i plenes.
04:43
ThereforePer tant, shareCompartir your reciperecepta truthveritat.
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Comparteix
la teva recepta de veritat.
04:47
It makesfa for a better mealmenjar.
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El menjar serà molt més bo.
04:49
Thank you.
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Gràcies.
04:50
(ApplauseAplaudiments)
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(Aplaudiments)
Translated by Maria Espinosa
Reviewed by Anna Comas-Quinn

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Adong Judith - Playwright, filmmaker
Adong Judith uses art as a vehicle to drive social change and trains aspiring makers to create art that dares to ask serious questions.

Why you should listen

Founder and artistic director of Silent Voices Uganda, a nonprofit performing arts company, Adong Judith creates art that provokes meaningful conversation on issues often considered taboo.

Notable among her training programs is the annual Summer Theater Directors Apprenticeship, a two-tier program that combines production and training of ten aspiring theater directors. Originally only for Ugandans, Judith has opened the 2018 and future apprenticeships to aspiring theater directors across the African continent, who she believes share the same challenges in practicum gaps.

In 2018, Judith will be in residence at Illinois State University, where she will direct her 2016 social media buzz-stirring play, Ga-AD!, which explores spirituality and the place of women in Pentecostal churches. Her first social change play, Silent Voices, which she wrote after accidentally encountering the inescapable stories of war crime victims in her hometown of Gulu, developed at Sundance Institute’s Theater Lab, received its world premiere in 2012 at the National Theater of Uganda and was described by the Ugandan media as "the spiritual rebirth of theater since its decline due to political persecution of artists by the Idi Amin regime."

Adong’s plays are taught at Ivy League Universities including Dartmouth College and Princeton University, and she recently signed a contract with Methuen Publishers UK to publish Silent Voices in an anthology of Contemporary African Women Playwrights.

More profile about the speaker
Adong Judith | Speaker | TED.com

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