Founded in December 1994 under the name of Junior of Lycée Félix Eboué in order to combat violence in schools, this organisation changed its status in 2004 to become a professional artistic and cultural company, the Compagnie Hadre Dounia. It is formed of professionals working in theatre, music, dance, storytelling, cinema, material and culinary arts. Since then, the company has expanded its activities beyond educational establishment to promote a culture of peace.

A theatre-dance event organised by Hadre Dounia. Image credit: Bouyo Séverin.

Hadre Dounia has worked on a number of peacebuilding initiatives in recent years:

In 2008, it collaborated with Radio FM Liberté on a project entitled Participation of Young People in Conflict Prevention in Ati. While Radio FM Liberté trained journalists from the local radio station Al-Nadja on journalistic ethics and the processing of information for the prevention of conflicts, the Hadre Dounia trained 65 local young people and artists on information, communication and awareness-raising techniques for conflict prevention.

In 2012 and 2013, Hadre Dounia trained 85 young people from eight refugee camps in eastern Chad on conflict prevention, peaceful cohabitation and the strengthening of community links, in partnership with the Association pour la Promotion des Libertés Fondamentales au Tchad (Association for the Promotion of Fundamental Rights in Chad). It has also helped train traditional and religious leaders.

The opening ceremony of the Am-timan project. Image credit: Bouyo Séverin.

In 2013, in N'Djamena, the Hadre Dounia worked to resolve disputes between two Goulaye and Massa communities in Walie in the 9th district of N'Djamena. Its worked around creating a joint theatre and music production to help build peace between the two communities and the other residents in the area.

In December 2014, Hadre Dounia worked with the Town Hall of the town of Sarh on issues related to conflicts between farmers and herders.

Since July 2015, Hadre Dounia has begun implementing a project called "Arts Action, Tool for Peace and Social Integration" in the Am-timan (Salamt region) and Faya (Borkou region) areas. The project has so far trained 80 young people in Am-timan in the key artistic areas above.It has also worked with the administrative authorities, local elected officials, traditional and religious leaders, young people's associations, and local neighbourhood dignitaries on conflict prevention issues. The Faya stage of the project began in August 2015.