They drop beats, not bombs: a brief discussion of issues surrounding the potential of music and dance in youth peace-building

This article focuses on how young people can use music and dance for peacebuilding. It utilises the framework of positive peace so it is concerned with much more than the absence of war or direct violence.1 Positive peace is a peace with justice, including gender justice. It involves an assurance of fair 'social, economic and political arrangements'2 and the preservation of human rights.3 Peacebuilding from this perspective seeks 'to prevent, reduce, transform, and help people recover from violence in all forms, even structural violence that has not yet led to massive civil unrest'.4 As Elisabeth Porter suggests, it requires a broad process of creating a societal environment to promote 'peace through development and aid, human rights education, and the restoration of community life'.