BUILD THE PEACE

Climate Change

Oct 11

Build the Peace transforms shipping containers into creative infrastructure and community hubs in areas of conflict and post-conflict.

In Place of War has deployed the first Build the Peace stage in Chitungwiza, one of Zimbabwe’s largest townships. It is a world first ‘festival in a box’, and the result of a collaboration between In Place of War; Magamba Network / Shoko Festival (Zimbabwe’s leading creative and digital culture organisation), Lab Pro Fab (Latin American community architect studio specialising in modular community infrastructure); and Arcadia (whose monumental installations have been seen by millions across 26 countries). The project has been developed from the outset with the community in Chitungwiza.

Thousands of children, community members, and young people used the stage to showcase their talents at Peace in the Hood, part of Shoko Festival, delivered annually by Magamba Network.This was followed by Peace in the Hood’s main stage programming, drawing more than 25,000 community members from Chitungwiza.

The Chitungwiza deployment is the project’s first phase and the first ever mobile ‘festival in a box’, combining a performance stage, recording studio, cinema screen and radio station in a modular, transportable unit.

Chitungwiza has a population of more than 400,000, with a thriving hip-hop, visual artist and youth cultural scene, but with high youth unemployment. Community consultations led by In Place of War in 2025 found strong support for a year-round creative space for young people. Over two years, Build the Peace aims to train young people in music production, live sound and stagecraft, create creative employment pathways, and build a self-sustaining creative ecosystem in Chitungwiza, managed by the local community and overseen by local partner Magamba Network.

We are now seeking partners to embed the Chitungwiza space as a year-round cultural hub, as well as take the model to new communities around the world, and provide equipment sponsorship through our Global Music Industry Advisory Board.

With the prototype built and proven, Build the Peace will be scaled up, taking the project to five refugee camps around the world. Customisable, modular Build the Peace projects, filled with music, arts and creative equipment, can be deployed to communities with little cultural infrastructure and few opportunities for young people.

The model rests on three elements:

The space: a container space that is tailored to the community's needs following a consultation phase. It can include: a performance stage, music recording studio, cinema screen, radio/ broadcast station, workshop / training space, theatre, and exhibition space, depending on the creative community's needs.
The resources: donated music and creative equipment, distributed through each space.
The knowledge network: local people who learn how to create and fabricate the space, then pass that knowledge on to others in different parts of the world.

For more information please contact roz@inplaceofwar.net