Developing a Community Arts Education Programme for Youth in Conflict-Affected Areas of Borno State

Arts education can play a critical role in psychosocial recovery, skills development, and community rebuilding in conflict-affected communities, and professionally designed community arts education programmes for youth in North East Nigeria can contribute to post-conflict cultural recovery alongside humanitarian programming. This study developed a community arts education programme for youth aged 12 to 24 in conflict-affected communities in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and Jere Local Government Area, Borno State, North East Nigeria. A professional programme design methodology integrating needs assessment, theory of change development, and comparative best practice review was employed. Needs assessment focus group discussions with 40 young people and structured interviews with 12 community leaders, NGO programme managers, and arts educators confirmed the psychosocial value of creative expression and strong community appetite for music, visual art, and drama activities as safe engagement spaces. Comparative review examined arts education in conflict programmes from UNICEF Syria, the West Bank National Conservatory, and Sierra Leone's Bintumani Cultural Centre. The programme designed comprises eight thematic art education modules delivered over 20 weeks through community facilitators trained in trauma-informed arts facilitation, covering visual art, storytelling, music, and drama with explicit links to community healing and identity expression. Monitoring and evaluation frameworks, facilitator training curricula, and community governance structures are specified. Expert review by eight programme design and arts-for-peace specialists confirmed the programme's therapeutic and educational coherence. Recommendations include joint implementation with UNICEF Nigeria and the Borno State Arts Council.

Keywords: community arts education, post-conflict programming, Borno State, youth arts, North East Nigeria