2022: Sharing Laughter with Many Kinds of Displaced People

CWB’s 2022 theme, Diversity of Displacement, drew attention to the many ways people become or remain displaced. Each displacement situation is worthy of attention and response.

2022 audience members experienced:

Below you’ll find all the countries CWB toured in 2022 (listed alphabetically) with associated blog post links. Each post tells why we were invited and what happened during the performances.

Yes, you’ll definitely see photos of laughing children with clowns, as well as quotes from audience members and artists.

Read the 2022 annual report.

Brazil

CWB artists are welcomed by hosts in Brazil who celebrate through song

CWB collaborated with Palhaços sem Fronteiras-Brazil to share laughter with indigenous communities in Brazil.

(Post forthcoming)

Ecuador

Clowns perform in Ecuador to help combat xenophobia

How does clowning combat xenophobia?

Read on to learn about xenophobia, how it affects communities in Ecuador, and how CWB clowns responded (including pictures and a video).

Egypt

CWB dances with audience members in Egypt where there was great diversity of displacement

Who is displaced in Cairo, Egypt?

This tour, more than any other this year, challenged our concept of displacement.

This post will introduce you to five groups of displaced kids in Cairo you want to meet.

Guatemala

CWB clowns performing in Guatemala

Do you know what makes Guatemala a main migration corridor to the north?

This post explores that question — and why children are now dreaming of being a chicken when they grow up.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Audience members in Kurdistan experience a fun performance

What does “being seen” mean to a person who is stateless?

It’s about being acknowledged, represented, supported, and included.

Read this post to learn how Kurdish refugee children were seen and celebrated.

Lebanon

Children in Lebanon are amazed by the clown show in their community

Clown Me In is a community-based organization in Lebanon.

In this post, you’ll learn about Clown Me In, its flavor of clowning, and how communities responded to their clowning following the Beirut explosion in August 2020.

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If you enjoy reading the posts, sign up for our newsletters, where you’ll get blog post announcements, audience member stories, and ways you can make a difference!

Mexico

Clowns dancing with children in the street

Want to hear from the artists? In this post, they each share a story of how women and girls use play to connect and dream of a better future.

Read the post!

Poland

Clowns and kids give a celebratory goodbye at the end of a clown show in Poland for Ukrainian refugees

You may wonder how a clown show for Ukrainian refugees removes the stress, fear, and uncertainty of displacement.

But that’s actually not the goal. Do you know what is? Find out in the post.

Romania

Ukrainian refugee children join the clown show in Romania

Ukrainian refugees didn’t expect to become part of the clown show. But that’s exactly what happened!

Read on to see how it went down!

Zimbabwe

Clowns and Kids interact during shows for Environmental refugees in Zimbabwe

Do you know what the thunderous roar of 1,800 people sounds like? 

Hear it for yourself and learn why CWB returned to Zimbabwe three years after our first visit.

2022 Annual Report

Read our 2022 Annual Report to learn more about CWB and our 2022 outcomes.

Cover of our 2022 annual report