Since 1999, Save the Children (UK) Office for South and Central Asia region has been promoting the use of TfD in its work with children and young people in the South and Central Asia Region with the objective of ensuring that the voices and concerns of children and young people can be incorporated in the designing and implementing of programmes that affect their lives. The dynamic process stimulates thinking and debate and has enabled children and adults to identify and act upon alternative solutions for problems faced by children's and the community. It has helped address power relations between significant adults and children. TfD has been used in research, evaluation, monitoring and for advocacy.

TfD involves tools and processes such as:

• Conceptualizing, writing, making plays and performing;
• Art, music, song and dance;
• Analysing problems and finding their root causes;
• Children engaging with adults and other children for bringing about positive changes;
• Negotiations with those in authority.

"Theatre for Development (TfD) is ...a changeable continuous process of development through theatre/creative forms of expression. It is cultural action for change. Cultural action is intervention in reality by cultural means.
TfD is one tool in the wider development process. Theatre is used differently than before in TfD."
- from an International workshop of TfD activists held in Bangladesh, 2000

Use of TfD in work around sexual health and HIV/AIDS sexual behavior and its added value

The magnitude of the HIV/AIDS infection is varied in the countries of Asia. Although some countries still show low HIV prevalence, the underlying factors that determine vulnerability to the pandemic is prevalent in most of the countries, highlighting the urgent need for greater understanding of issues around sexual health and sexual behavior. In many ways, HIV has forced discourses on sexual behavior out of the closet but discussion on sexual behavior is still taboo and certain sections in the society fear that these interventions will promote sexual activity in children and young people leading to erosion of their culture. Furthermore programmes addressing sexual health and sexual behavior are often accused to have arisen out of a western or donor driven agenda and seen an imposition of western morals and values. There is very little or no community ownership of the interventions.

Providing technical information on HIV/AIDS is relatively easy but for it to be useful the information has to be relevant moreover information does not automatically translate to behavior change. SCUK has seen encouraging results in using these approaches in work on sexual health, sexual behavior and HIV/AIDS in the countries of South and Central Asia.

• The emphasis on collective exploration generates spontaneity that facilitates identification of issues that are often associated with taboos, shame and fear.
• TfD ensures that communities and children are active participants not as passive recipients to information. This encourages community ownership and participation.
• Helps in identifying and exploring the root causes, questioning of practices that increase risk or harm, the power relations and other determinants of sexual behavior and responding to these issues in ways that are contextually and culturally appropriate and not on prescriptions from outside.
• The whole process increases the sense of control of children and communities over their existing situation.
• The approach incorporates principles of good development practice and rights based approach to work.