Soul Beat Africa is co-sponsored by Soul city Institute and the communication Initiative

SOUL BEAT : Edutainment

Where the edutainment approach is central to Africa's social and economic development

EDUTAINMENT| Approaches| Tools| Issues| Regions/Countries| MDGs| Polls / Discussions

Classifieds


Arts for Social Change Learning Journey

Country

South Africa

Region

Africa

Programme Summary

This programme aimed to provide international artists and development specialists an opportunity to share their knowledge about using the arts for social change through a "learning journey" in Johannesburg, South Africa. The ten-day programme was organised by the Pioneers of Change, an international network of development practitioners who seek to encourage the implementation of innovative development and communication strategies by providing workshops and training for interested parties. The learning journey sought to use arts for social change initiatives in the Gauteng province as grounds for understanding how the arts, such as painting, dance, music and theatre, can empower disadvantaged youth and build awareness about topical issues, such as HIV/AIDS and children's rights.

Communication Strategies

The organisers believed that by sharing knowledge about personal experiences and their practical skills in arts for social change capacities, participants would gain a greater understanding of the diverse methodologies, tools and structures required to establish and coordinate future art for development endeavours. Participants shared their knowledge through group discussions and reflections, presentations of their work, and interactive workshop sessions facilitated by the Pioneers of Change. This sharing was consolidated by a documentation process, which emphasised the diverse methodologies and tools involved in arts for social change projects through a global lens.

The learning journey also sought to build awareness amongst participants about the various activities involving arts for social change on an international scale. By inviting participants from 12 different countries, the organisers believed the learning journey would provide a wide range of perspectives on the role of arts in creating social change, as well as provide an opportunity for participants to network with international practitioners for future developmental initiatives.

Organisers employed a hands-on approach to help cement the theoretical discussions about methodologies used in arts for social change endeavours. This hands-on strategy involved allowing the participants to visit a number of development-through-creativity projects in Gauteng province, including the Creative Inner-City Initiative (CICI), Soweto Mountain of Hope (SoMoHo), and the Soweto Kliptown Youth (SKY). Participants witnessed how these projects were organised, how resources were managed, how projects sought to affect a particular issue involving a particular demographic, and in what ways arts were used to empowering individuals, generating income and building community awareness. Organisers arranged for participants to visit local projects, such as Arrep Theatre for Life, 20 000 Drums, and the Zanendebe Storytellers so as to communicate to participants the tools and practical skills involved in developing workshops using arts for social change.

The learning journey culminated in a daylong workshop series for artists and development practitioners in Johannesburg at the Community and Individual Development Association (CIDA) City Campus. Workshops were developed by learning journey participants and facilitators from local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in arts for social change capacities, such as Sibikwa, Lapeng and Creative Inner City Initiative. This workshop series sought to involve the public, particularly youth, in the process of developing methodologies and sharing knowledge about arts for social change, as well as to build awareness about the role of arts for social change activities in community development.

Development Issues

Youth, Rights.

Partners

Pioneers of Change, Creative Inner-City Initiative, Arrep Theatre for Life, Zanendebe Storytellers, CIDA City Campus, Soweto Kliptown Youth, Soweto Mountain of Hope, Visual Arts and Crafts Association, the Heart Centre.

Contact

Marianne "Mille" Bojer
Pioneers of Change
Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0) 11 833 5959
mbojer@pioneersofchange.net
Pioneers of Change website

Pioneers of Change, Creative Inner-City Initiative, Arrep Theatre for Life, Zanendebe Storytellers, CIDA City Campus, Soweto Kli

Source

Pioneers of Change website on March 7 2005.


Placed on the Soul Beat Africa site March 07 2005
Last Updated April 05 2006

How useful did you find this page to your work?

1 - not useful    5 - very useful

Feel free to leave us comments

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

User login

Register and Participate

Subscribe to Soul Beat e-mag, Get poll results, Contribute to Forums, etc...
New to CI? » Start here

Help Seed The CI Network

Poll