A circus school in the service of intercultural dialogue

Bali, 28th of August 2014 – arcenciel, in the name of its circus troop cirquenciel, has been selected as finalist for the 2014 Intercultural Innovation Award out of 600 participants from over 100 countries in a highly competitive selection process. The official award ceremony took place in Bali - Indonesia in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UNAOC high representative Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, and Bill McAndrews BMW Group Vice President Communication’s strategy, corporate & market communications.

cirquenciel won the 5th prize of The IIA, an award in partnership between the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group. The funds raised will help strengthen the intercultural circus school and allow inviting young people from five different countries in the region to participate in this project.

The representative of cirquenciel in Bali, Johnny Girges, stated that “circus arts are an efficient, innovative and proven approach to deal with young people living in a society torn by years of war and conflict”. arcenciel has encouraged intercultural dialogue between Arab youth in Lebanon by establishing the first school for circus in the Middle East. In 2001, arcenciel founded the circus troop cirquenciel in order to share their passion and experience with others. To date, more than 1 500 shows have been performed for an Arab and international audience. Additionally, this project provides opportunities for replication in other countries through the creation of clusters all around the region encouraging the participation of local artists.

About the Intercultural Innovation Award 

The Intercultural Innovation Award is a partnership between the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group that aims to select and support the most innovative grassroots projects that encourage intercultural dialogue and cooperation around the world.