Not Workers, Children: A Forum Theatre in the Streets
September 2025 - June 2026
ISTANBUL
Child labour in industry and on the streets of Istanbul has increased significantly in recent years. At the same time, growing polarisation in society has made it difficult to discuss our common problems in safe and peaceful spaces. Within the scope of this project, the stories of child labourers will be collected; artists will then use these stories as a basis to produce a Forum Theatre performance. The prepared plays will be staged in different public spaces in Istanbul to engage with the public, opening up the issue of child labour for collective discussion.
The project aims to highlight the phenomenon of child labour, which has increased as a result of educational and social policies implemented in Turkey from the past to the present. Due to the economic crisis and poverty, children are forced to give up their right to education and work. The inability to freely discuss the issue of child labour in the context of policies creates a serious void in today's Turkey, where freedom of expression and the right to information are restricted.
Child labour deprives children of their right to education, puts their health at risk, seriously harms their development, and causes child deaths because it is not officially monitored. According to TÜİK's 2024 ‘Children in Statistics’ data, there has been an 8% increase in the number of child workers over the last four years and a 3.5% increase compared to the previous year. Despite being a serious violation of rights, child labour is not sufficiently visible in the public sphere in Turkey. Only isolated incidents are covered in the media, and the structural dimensions of the issue are not brought to the fore. One reason for this is the restriction of freedom of expression and the high level of social polarisation, which prevents democratic debate in the public sphere. In this context, we are faced with a multi-layered problem.
The project aims to respond to this need in the public sphere through participatory forum theatre. At events to be held in different socio-economic areas of Istanbul, interactive plays will be performed based on real stories collected from the field; participants will be encouraged to empathise and work together to find solutions to problems through the plays. This method is designed as an approach that not only raises awareness but also aims to overcome polarisation and defend fundamental human rights by supporting freedom of expression.