news.

Diligo invites teachers and other education professionals to a Forum Theatre training course held as part of “Psst, nikomu o tom nehovor!” — preventing discrimination and bullying in schools.

Dates: 27–30 May 2026
Venue: Hotel Poľana, Zvolen
Capacity: maximum 15 participants
Registration deadline: 18 May 2026
Registration form: https://bit.ly/42MTX7F

The fourth Forum Theatre performance was created by eighth-grade pupils from ZŠ Pieninská in Banská Bystrica as part of “Psst, nikomu o tom nehovor!” — preventing bullying and discrimination in schools.

The six courageous pupils involved brought to the stage a powerful story of discrimination experienced by one of them at another primary school in Banská Bystrica. What goes unspoken? What does nobody see? Being judged solely because of your family circumstances, for example. Constant needling from classmates, cutting remarks and being left out of a school trip. Because you are different… because your family is different.

The play was performed for sixth- and seventh-grade pupils at the school. We were glad to see the injustice on stage provoke strong reactions: young audience members entered the story, looked for constructive responses and stood up for the person being unfairly excluded.

Thank you, Natália, Lea, Viky, Daniela, Filip and Patrik, for your sensitivity, openness and courage in working with personal experiences.

We also thank teacher Karin Martinková for her thoughtful support and for helping create a safe space at school.

We have completed four intensive days of Forum Theatre workshops with nine eighth-grade pupils from ZŠ L. Novomeského in Lučenec.

Here, too, a story emerged: powerful, authentic, alive and harsh. “Všetci krvácame červenú.”

“Shouldn’t you be going to a special school? You’re a Gypsy. You don’t belong here at all. You don’t belong in this school, or even in this world.”

The story of a Roma girl repeatedly subjected to verbal abuse by a girl from the majority community shows how deeply words can wound — and how important it is not to remain silent.

Forum Theatre gives us space both to name what is happening and to explore ways of acting with greater care and fairness.

We thank every pupil for their courage, openness and commitment. We are proud that you were willing to speak about issues that matter and are often painful.

We are proud of the courage you showed in entering the play, offering meaningful interventions and standing up for justice.

Všetci krvácame červenú. May it remind us that everyone deserves humanity, respect and dignity.

Forum Theatre is a theatrical method in which pupils and teachers step onto the stage together and explore alternative responses to conflicts they have experienced themselves or heard about from peers. It supports critical thinking, assertiveness and the courage to act in real life. “Psst, nikomu o tom nehovor!” — preventing bullying and discrimination in schools — is for primary and secondary schools in the Banská Bystrica region and ran from October 2025 to August 2026.

Our sincere thanks go to the leadership of ZŠ L. Novomeského in Lučenec, especially Monika Szabóová, whose support made this the third school to join the project.

Facilitators: Komárová & Návojský. The project was supported by #nadaciapontis #ImpactLab #inkubator

“Now you’ll see what I’ll do to that ugly face of yours… that disgusting nose, those big ears and greasy hair… just wait until you see what you look like!” This is not a line from a crime drama. It reflects the online world encountered by pupils in our four-day workshop for “Psst, nikomu o tom nehovor!” — Forum Theatre to prevent bullying and discrimination in schools, held at ZŠ Hrnčiarska in Zvolen. Thirteen pupils brought cyberbullying to the stage: repeated attacks that start as supposedly harmless jokes and leave their target in deep distress. How can you protect yourself? Who can you talk to? Where can you find help and support? What happens when cruel online jokes spill into a young person’s everyday life? These questions shaped “Dilinovia”, another Forum Theatre performance created by eighth-grade pupils for the school’s sixth- and seventh-grade classes.

Forum Theatre is a theatrical method in which pupils and teachers step onto the stage together and explore alternative responses to conflicts they have experienced themselves or heard about from peers. It supports critical thinking, assertiveness and the courage to act in real life. The project is for primary and secondary schools in the Banská Bystrica region and ran from October 2025 to August 2026. We thank the leadership of ZŠ Hrnčiarska, especially Veronika Páleníková, whose support made this the second school to join the project.

Facilitators: Komárová & Návojský. The project was supported by #nadaciapontis #ImpactLab #inkubator #zshrnciarska

At the time of this invitation, we still had space for one primary or secondary school from the Banská Bystrica region. If the project interests you, please get in touch.

Anet, Isabel, Jakub, Marek and Jakub are 13 or 14 years old, and they already know something about being labelled. That experience became part of our first performance for “Psst, nikomu o tom nehovor!” — Forum Theatre to prevent discrimination and bullying in schools. Its working title was “Pod hladinou”. Five pupils from ZŠ A. Sládkoviča in Sliač took part in a four-day Forum Theatre workshop. Together we explored the power of this participatory method and shared what it feels like to be invisible at school, or to be labelled every day in ways that do not reflect who you are. Anet, Isabel, Jakub, Marek and Jakub showed real courage. After four days, they stood before their peers and told a true story that resonated with many in the room. Their courage deserves particular recognition because all five stayed in character through audience interventions that were not always easy. The aim was to reveal the early signs of bullying: situations that seem harmless but can grow into traumatic experiences. The aggressor, the person targeted, the witness. How can we protect ourselves? Where can we seek help? Or do we simply watch?

Forum Theatre is a theatrical method in which pupils and teachers step onto the stage together and explore alternative responses to conflicts they have experienced themselves or heard about from peers. It supports critical thinking, assertiveness and the courage to act in real life. The project is for primary and secondary schools in the Banská Bystrica region and ran from October 2025 to August 2026. We thank the leadership of ZŠ Sliač, the first school to join the project, and especially teacher Jaroslava Žáková.

Facilitators: Komárová & Návojský. The project was supported by #nadaciapontis #ImpactLab #inkubator

Looking for fresh ideas for working with young people and marginalised groups in your community? Interested in how art can open conversations about discrimination, conflict and inclusion?

Join our international training course with 14 community leaders from five European countries.

What will you learn?

Discover Forum Theatre, a form of Theatre of the Oppressed, as a way to engage audiences in dialogue about real issues.

Learn theatre techniques, movement exercises, dramaturgy and how to create a short performance based on real experiences of discrimination.

Gain tools to support community dialogue and amplify young people’s voices.

Join a European network of youth workers seeking responses to the challenges of a polarised society.

When and where?

26 September – 2 October 2025
Centrum nezávislej kultúry Záhrada, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Travel days: 25 September and 3 October 2025

Who can apply?

Youth workers, educators, artists, students and community leaders who work with marginalised young people or want to learn new approaches to inclusive community work.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/gbj2h1GzdDcXdgeLA

More information: Madlen Komárová (+421 908 465 299), info@diligo.sk
Organised by Diligo.sk with partners from five European countries.
The project is funded by the European Union through Erasmus+. Programme funding covers the costs of participation, accommodation and meals.

We answered the call for the Impact Lab Inkubátor and are delighted that “Psst, nikomu o tom nehovor!” — Forum Theatre to prevent discrimination and bullying in schools — is among the 13 projects selected in the education category.

https://www.nadaciapontis.sk/novinky/predstavujeme-25-projektov-organizacii-ktore-postupili-do-impact-lab-minibootcampu/