Jan. 2010 – iChoose Debuts in Hawaii

“Has anyone here ever been bullied? Did you ever go along with something you knew was wrong? Has anyone ever made fun of you because you were different? Have you ever….”

These stirring questions are posed and then the lights go out. What ensues is a combination of music, dance and video all tailored to convey the message that we all have the power to choose, to speak up for those who have been wronged, to care for others, to be courageous in the face of peer pressure, self-doubt, depression and physical abuse.

This is the journey of the mini-musical portion of iChoose, the ICAP program created to empower youth, which debuted at the Hawaii Convention Center in Waikiki on January 17, 2010, with ICAP artist and Executive Vice President Patrick Duffy as master of ceremonies.

iChoose comprises a three-part program that helps youth identify violence in their lives and communities, and empowers them to make positive choices to counteract that violence. The components of iChoose are the internationally successful Victory Over Violence (VOV) exhibit; a twenty-minute musical production by ICAP artists portraying high school students and the impact of an individual’s choice in counteracting violence; and a concluding discussion facilitated by iChoose cast members and ICAP representatives.

A central aspect of the iChoose presentation is the VOV exhibit. This exhibit is part of a youth-led initiative launched in 1999 in response to the growing concern of youth-related violence in the United States. The goal of VOV is to promote awareness, introspection, and the spirit of nonviolence through active dialogue among youth in order to inspire positive change. This initiative has since been presented to more than 100 U.S. schools and has reached as far as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada. The VOV pledge for nonviolence has been signed by more than a million people around the globe.

“ICAP created iChoose to help the Victory Over Violence project become readily available to the youth of Hawaii. We want them to know there are alternative choices. We would like to offer this production to the entire Hawaii community, and toward that end, the program will tour 10 Hawaii high schools in January and February,” said ICAP Vice President M Lavin.

Dr. Douglas Becker, acting director of the University of Southern California’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program, has called iChoose “a wonderful production,” adding, “What makes it so powerful is that it resonates on a personal level.”

Photos by Craig Wood, Fukuo Umeda, Gary Nakamura and Caisy Lun