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: Cara saya menggunakan seni untuk mengatasi kesalahpahaman

Filmed:
1,006,269 views

Sutradara dan dramawan Adong Judith menciptakan seni provokatif yang mengundang pembicaraan mengenai isu hak-hak kaum LGBTQ hingga kejahatan perang. Dalam ceramahnya yang singkat namun menggugah, TED Fellow ini menjelaskan pekerjaannya -- termasuk sandiwara "Silent Voices", yang menggabungkan para korban perang Uganda Utara dengan kelompok pemberontak Joseph Kony bersama dengan para pemimpin politik, agama, dan budaya untuk pembicaraan transformatif. "Saling menyimak akan memberi peluang untuk menciptakan jalan awal kerja sama untuk mengatasi banyak masalah kemanusiaan."
- 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-directorPenulis-Sutradara
who tellsmengatakan social-changeperubahan sosial storiescerita,
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Saya adalah penulis dan sutradara yang
bercerita tentang perubahan sosial,
00:16
because I believe storiescerita
touchmenyentuh and movepindah us.
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karena saya yakin cerita dapat menyentuh
dan menggerakkan kita.
00:20
StoriesCerita humanizememanusiakan
and teachmengajar us to empathizeberempati.
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Cerita memanusiakan dan mengajari
kita berempati.
00:23
StoriesCerita changeperubahan us.
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Cerita mengubah kita.
00:26
When I writemenulis and directlangsung playsbermain,
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Saat menulis dan
menyutradarai drama,
00:28
I'm amplifyingmemperkuat voicessuara-suara
of disadvantagedkurang beruntung groupskelompok,
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saya mengeraskan suara
kelompok yang kurang beruntung,
00:31
I'm fightingberjuang the self-censorshipSWA-sensor
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saya melawan sensor mandiri
00:33
that has keptterus manybanyak UgandanUganda artistsseniman
away from socialsosial, politicalpolitik theaterteater
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yang menjauhkan banyak seniman
Uganda dari teater sosial, politik
00:38
sincesejak the persecutionpenganiayaan of artistsseniman
by formerbekas UgandanUganda presidentPresiden, IdiIDI AminAmin.
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sejak persekusi seniman oleh
mantan presiden Uganda, Idi Amin.
00:44
And mostpaling importantlypenting,
I am breakingpemecahan the silenceDiam
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Dan yang lebih penting,
saya mematahkan kebisuan
00:48
and provokingmerangsang meaningfulberarti
conversationspercakapan on tabootabu issuesMasalah,
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dan mendorong pembicaraan
bermakna mengenai isu tabu,
00:52
where oftensering "SilenceKeheningan is goldenkeemasan"
is the ruleaturan of thumbibu jari.
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yang aturan utamanya berbunyi
"Diam itu emas".
00:57
ConversationsPercakapan are importantpenting
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Pembicaraan itu penting
00:59
because they informmemberitahu
and challengetantangan our mindspikiran to think,
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karena memberi informasi dan menantang
kita untuk berpikir,
01:03
and changeperubahan startsdimulai with thinkingberpikir.
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dan perubahan dimulai dari berpikir.
01:06
One of my strugglesperjuangan with activismaktivisme
is its oftensering one-sidedsatu sisi naturealam
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Salah satu pergumulan saya dengan
aktivisme adalah sifatnya yang berpihak
01:11
that blindsBlinds us to alternativealternatif viewmelihat,
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dan menutup mata kita dari
pemikiran alternatif,
01:14
that numbsmati rasa our empathyempati,
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yang menumpulkan
empati kita,
01:16
that makesmembuat us viewmelihat those
who see issuesMasalah differentlyberbeda
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yang membuat kita memandang mereka
yang memiliki pandangan berbeda
01:19
as ignorantbodoh, self-hatingmembenci diri sendiri, brainwasheddicuci otak,
selloutsellout or plainpolos stupidbodoh.
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sebagai orang bebal, telah dicuci otak,
pengkhianat atau bodoh.
01:26
I believe no one is ignorantbodoh.
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Saya percaya tidak ada orang bodoh.
01:29
We are all expertsahli,
only in differentberbeda fieldsladang.
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Kita semua pakar,
hanya bidangnya saja yang berbeda.
01:34
And this is why, for me, the sayingpepatah
"staytinggal in your truthkebenaran" is misleadingmenyesatkan.
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Inilah mengapa saya pikir ungkapan
"peganglah kebenaranmu" itu menyesatkan.
01:40
Because if you're stayingtinggal in your truthkebenaran,
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Karena jika Anda berpegang pada
kebenaran Anda,
01:42
isn't it logicallogis that the personorang
you believe is wrongsalah
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tidakkah masuk akal jika orang
yang Anda anggap salah
01:45
is alsojuga stayingtinggal in theirmereka truthkebenaran?
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juga berpegang pada kebenaran mereka?
01:48
So, what you have is two extremesekstrem
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Jadi, ada dua hal ekstrem
01:51
that shutmenutup out all possiblemungkin
avenuesjalan of conversationspercakapan.
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yang menutup semua peluang
terjadinya pembicaraan.
01:56
I createmembuat provocativeprovokatif theaterteater and filmfilm
to touchmenyentuh, humanizememanusiakan
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Saya membuat sandiwara dan film
provokatif untuk menyentuh, memanusiakan
02:01
and movepindah disagreeingtidak setuju partiespesta
to the conversationpercakapan tablemeja
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dan menggerakkan pihak yang bertentangan
menuju pembicaraan
02:06
to bridgejembatan misunderstandingskesalahpahaman.
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untuk mengatasi kesalahpahaman.
02:09
I know that listeningmendengarkan to one anotherlain
will not magicallysecara ajaib solvememecahkan all problemsmasalah.
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Saya tahu bahwa saling mendengarkan
tak akan seketika mengatasi semua masalah.
02:15
But it will give a chancekesempatan
to createmembuat avenuesjalan
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Tapi ini akan membuka peluang
02:17
to startmulai to work togetherbersama to solvememecahkan
manybanyak of humanity'skemanusiaan problemsmasalah.
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untuk memulai kerja sama dan mengatasi
banyak masalah kemanusiaan.
02:22
With my first playbermain, "SilentDiam VoicesSuara,"
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Pertunjukan pertama saya, "Silent Voices",
02:25
basedberbasis on interviewswawancara with victimskorban
of the NorthernUtara UgandaUganda warperang
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dibuat berdasarkan wawancara dengan
korban perang Uganda Utara
02:28
betweenantara the governmentpemerintah
and JosephYusuf Kony'sKony's ini LRALra rebelpemberontak groupkelompok,
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antara pemerintah dan kelompok
pemberontak LRA Joseph Kony
02:32
I broughtdibawa togetherbersama victimskorban,
politicalpolitik leaderspemimpin, religiouskeagamaan leaderspemimpin,
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Saya menyatukan korban, pemimpin politik,
pemimpin agama,
02:37
culturalkultural leaderspemimpin, the AmnestyAmnesti CommissionKomisi
and transitionaltransisi justicekeadilan leadershipkepemimpinan
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pemimpin budaya, Amnesty Commission
dan kepemimpinan keadilan transisi untuk
02:42
for criticalkritis conversationspercakapan on issuesMasalah
of justicekeadilan for warperang crimekejahatan victimskorban --
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membicarakan tentang isu keadilan
bagi korban kejahatan perang --
02:48
the first of its kindjenis
in the historysejarah of UgandaUganda.
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yang pertama kalinya dilakukan
dalam sejarah Uganda.
02:51
And so manybanyak powerfulkuat things happenedterjadi,
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Dan banyak hal besar terjadi,
02:54
that I can't even
coverpenutup them all right now.
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yang bahkan tak bisa saya
sebutkan semua di sini.
02:57
VictimsKorban were givendiberikan the opportunitykesempatan
to sitduduk at the tablemeja
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Para korban diberi kesempatan
duduk bersama
03:01
with AmnestyAmnesti CommissionKomisi leadershipkepemimpinan,
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dengan pemimpin Amnesty Commission,
03:03
and they expressedmenyatakan
the bigbesar injusticeketidakadilan they sufferedmenderita
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dan mereka mengungkapkan
ketidakadilan yang mereka alami
03:07
when the CommissionKomisi ignoreddiabaikan them
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saat pihak Commission
mengabaikan mereka
03:09
and insteadsebagai gantinya facilitateddifasilitasi the resettlementpemukiman
of the warperang perpetratorspelaku.
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dan malah memfasilitasi relokasi bagi
para penjahat perang.
03:15
And the AmnestyAmnesti CommissionKomisi
acknowledgeddiakui the victims'korban painrasa sakit
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Dan Amnesty Commission mengakui
penderitaan para korban
03:19
and explainedmenjelaskan the thinkingberpikir
behinddibelakang theirmereka flawedCacat approachespendekatan.
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dan menjelaskan pemikiran
di balik pendekatan tercela mereka.
03:24
But one of the things
that has stayedtinggal with me
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Tapi salah satu hal yang masih
saya pikirkan adalah
03:26
is when, duringselama my NorthernUtara UgandaUganda
tourwisata of the playbermain,
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selama tur pertunjukan saya di
Uganda Utara,
03:30
a man approachedmendekat me and introduceddiperkenalkan himselfdiri
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seorang pria mendekati saya dan
memperkenalkan dirinya
03:33
as a formerbekas rebelpemberontak soldersolder of JosephYusuf KonyKony.
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sebagai mantan pejuang pemberontak
pimpinan Joseph Kony
03:37
He told me that he didn't want me to leavemeninggalkan
feelingperasaan disappointedkecewa,
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Ia berkata bahwa ia tidak ingin saya
pergi dengan rasa kecewa,
03:41
duekarena to some of what I considereddianggap
inappropriatetidak pantas laughtertawa.
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karena apa yang saya anggap
sebagai tawa yang tidak pantas.
03:45
He explainedmenjelaskan that his
was a laughtertawa of embarrassmentkejengahan
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Ia menjelaskan bahwa tawanya
adalah tawa malu
03:50
and a recognitionpengakuan
of his ownsendiri embarrassmentkejengahan.
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dan pengakuan akan rasa malunya.
03:53
He saw himselfdiri in the actorsaktor onstagepanggung
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Ia melihat dirinya dalam diri
para aktor di atas panggung
03:57
and saw the meaninglessnessketakbermaknaan
of his pastlalu actionstindakan.
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dan melihat kehampaan akan
tindakannya di masa lalu.
04:02
So I say: shareBagikan your truthskebenaran.
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Jadi saya berkata: bagikan kebenaranmu.
04:05
Listen to one another'slain truthskebenaran.
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Dengarkan kebenaran orang lain.
04:08
You will discovermenemukan
a more powerfullykuat unitingmenyatukan truthkebenaran
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Kamu akan menemukan kebenaran
yang lebih kuat dan menyatukan
04:11
in the middletengah groundtanah.
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di tengah-tengah semuanya.
04:14
When I livedhidup in the USAAMERIKA SERIKAT,
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Saat saya tinggal di AS,
04:16
manybanyak of my AmericanAmerika Serikat friendsteman
would be shockedterkejut at my ignoranceketidakpedulian
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banyak teman Amerika saya terkejut
akan ketidaktahuan saya
04:19
at fancymewah WesternBarat dishespiring
like lasagnalasagna, for instancecontoh.
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tentang hidangan Barat seperti
lasagna, misalnya.
04:23
(LaughterTawa)
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(Tawa)
04:24
And my questionpertanyaan to them would be,
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Dan pertanyaan saya kepada
mereka adalah,
04:27
"Well, do you know malakwangyang?"
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"Hm, apakah Anda tahu malakwang?"
04:29
And then I would tell them
about malakwangyang,
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Lalu saya memberitahu mereka
tentang malakwang,
04:32
a fancymewah vegetablesayur-mayur dishhidangan from my culturebudaya.
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hidangan sayur mewah dari negara saya.
04:36
And they would tell me about lasagnalasagna.
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Dan mereka memberitahu saya
tentang lasagna.
04:38
And we would leavemeninggalkan
richerlebih kaya and fullerFuller individualsindividu.
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Dan setelahnya, mereka menjadi
orang yang lebih kaya pengetahuan.
04:43
ThereforeOleh karena itu, shareBagikan your reciperesep truthkebenaran.
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Oleh sebab itu, bagikanlah kebenaran
hidangan Anda.
04:47
It makesmembuat for a better mealmakan.
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Ini membuat makanan
Anda jadi lebih baik.
04:49
Thank you.
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Terima kasih.
04:50
(ApplauseTepuk tangan)
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(Tepuk tangan)
Translated by Desi Farida Mandarini
Reviewed by Ade Indarta

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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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