UP-CLOSE … with Alexandria Faure, founder of the Meraki Foundation |17 April 2018

“Diversity & inclusive collaboration is a driving force for positive change – but we don’t tap into it enough”

Alexandria Faure is the founder of the Meraki Foundation. She is also the Public Relations, Communications & Protocol Manager at the National Assembly. Alexandria is a firm believer in the power of the arts to galvanise change.

UP-CLOSE met up with Alexandria where she talked about her rich background in theatre and her passion for developing artistic projects to tackle issues affecting communities in Seychelles.

Galvanise is a big word!

“Yes! it lights the fire and it stimulates the debate on why the arts is so powerful. When we participate in Theatre for example, we put our differences aside and we create a masterpiece together. We rise together throughout the whole process. We develop the ability to confront complex problems and the ability to find solutions to those problems, it’s also worth mentioning that the ability to create is the most powerful thing that can happen to an individual. You see, when we create art in a friendly and inclusive environment we grow in so many ways - we use both sides of our brain, we use our body in its entirety and we connect with our inner selves. something like this deserves a big word to describe its impact.”

Childhood days

How did Alexandria got into art?

“My family moved to Scotland when I was 7 years old. I remember the very first school I attended over there and the teacher had partnered me with a classmate and after a few weeks I had noticed that the classmate was no longer friendly and avoided me. When I approached her, she told me that her mum had told her that she is not allowed to play with brown kids. I was only 7 and I didn’t really understand what that meant at first until my parents tried to explain what racism was. As time went by, when I wasn’t invited to birthday parties and the bullying intensified so I began to understand,” says Alexandria.

It was throughout these very difficult years, that her parents encouraged her to get involved in extracurricular activities in school. This is where she said, her volunteering and artistic streak came out and it developed as the years went by.

The person Alexandria is today

“Something inside me lights up when I work with people who are passionate, hardworking and who also have others at heart. The journey on being the best version of myself is ongoing and it’s a process. I see a mountain and it won’t stop me - I’ll climb it, and then I’ll help others climb it. I stand for what I believe in, even if that means standing alone and my words are backed by action,” Alexandria explains.

Are there many ‘mountains’ to climb in Seychelles?

Alexandria believes there will always be many mountains to climb and that challenges will always be there, but they are there to be overcome.

“There are beautiful stories that need to be told and wonderful things that need to be shared with humanity. But we can only do it together - no man is an island.  I truly believe that if we put our minds together and find common solutions for our common issues, we can overcome a lot of challenges. Diversity and inclusive collaboration is a driving force for positive change but we don’t tap into enough here in Seychelles,: she said. But Alexandria is positive. She sees, step by step, a lot of young people striving to collaborate more with others. We can all rise together and once and for all try to change the divisiveness that currently exists.

Word Up & the Meraki Foundation

Alexandria started volunteering from a very young age. This is where Word Up and the Meraki Foundation has come from - her passion for helping others.

The Meraki Foundation is a non-profit organisation that supports innovative and artistic projects that promote social values and celebrate diversity in Seychelles. All the projects that fall under the foundation promote the value of the arts as a force for positive impact.

“Our projects are community based and have a strong focus on using the arts to empower people to overcome social issues. We are striving to offer creative spaces for artists and people who need to express themselves, develop and grow,” she says.

Word Up is a regular open mic event where performers, poets and storytellers come together to share their art and the impact has been amazing.

“We’ve had over 100 people of different ages and backgrounds perform at Word Up. The movement has grown and grown, the people who participate get more confident, they grow and they raise their voices on issues that are affecting them. And it’s a simple platform and look how powerful it is. It just shows that we can make a huge impact with very simple, well organised and organic projects that derive from local needs,” Alexandria continues.

 Another project under the Meraki Foundation is Seyit.TV which is an online platform that aims to produce creative local video content for Seychelles - aimed at being inspiring, informative and thought provoking.

Inclusivity and diversity

Alexandria says inclusivity and diversity are the values the strong foundations of  Word Up and the Meraki Foundation have been built on. And that inclusivity, diversity, art innovation and impact are at the centre of what they do and why they do it!

“You know Seychelles has always had a strong focus on sports, which is great but the significance of the arts as an extracurricular activity, hobby or vocation is often overlooked. And all the participants, she added, volunteers and partners involved believe in the power of the arts to bring about change and empower members of our community.

Hopes and wishes for the future

Definitely a more positive, united and inclusive Seychelles! And most definitely the arts getting the recognition it deserves for its galvanising power to providing solutions for our social issues and for equipping the leaders of today and tomorrow with the skills to lead in an enlightened way.

“I would also like to see theatre, music and dance be re-introduced in schools, young Seychellois provided with the spaces and the support to be innovative and lastly more diversity of opinions and facts in the public sphere,” she says. Those, she concluded, are some of the objectives that the Meraki Foundation will drive forward as the days, months and years go by.

By Marylene Julie