This issue of The Soul Beat focuses on information from our network about the use of theatre as a form of communication for social change.
EXPERIENCES
1. Amakhosi's Theatre for Community Action - Zimbabwe
Theatre-for-Community-Action (TCA) methodology is used to support and involve rural community members in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Amakhosi Cultural Centre organised a one-year long practical theatre skills training programme to promote the use of the TCA methodology in Matabeleland North Province, Zimbabwe. The workshop participants visited people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) and children affected by AIDS in order to get a first-hand experience of the impact of AIDS. During follow-up workshops the participants produced several plays on HIV/AIDS.
Contact Cont Mhlanga continstitute@telconet.co.zw
2. Sanaa Art Promotions (SAP) - Kenya
SAP is an organisation of artists, researchers, social scientists and communication specialists active in the use of arts to promote socio-economic development within East African communities. SAP uses visual and theatre arts for communication through a method called Participatory Interactive Media Model (PIMM) to advocate for behaviour change primarily among the youth. PIMM is a concept developed by SAP in which participants take an active role in simulation exercises. Multi-dimensional channels such as theatre, focus group discussions, essay writing competitions, and radio programme listening sessions are used.
Contact Kihu Irimu sanaa@alphanet.co.ke
3. Small Business Training Project - South Africa & Zimbabwe
The Small Business Training Project is a multi-media campaign addressing the need for basic entrepreneurship and small business training amongst low-literacy rural women. Following a radio series, theatre groups featured in the soap opera of the radio programmes toured rural areas in the 2 countries involved. This phase of the project was used to initiate a dialogue between the audience and the extension facilitators in the small business support institutions, along with ensuring continued accessibility for a semi-literate audience.
Contact Radio for Development info@rfd.org.uk
4. People's Popular Theatre (PPT) - East Africa
This community-based group uses theatre to raise awareness about discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, or disability. The organisation conducts research on traditional cultural art forms and practices, exploring how they affect gender relations and then working to correct gender imbalances in society through performance art. In addressing these issues, PPT uses African artistic modes to strengthen cultural identity while addressing the issues.
Contact Kimingichi Wabende OR pptheatre@yahoo.co.uk
5. The Sibikwa Community Theatre Project - South Africa
The Sibikwa Community Theatre Project focuses on the arts, and reaching the historically disadvantaged communities. According to Sibikwa, the collective creation of plays forms a unique result - the truly democratic process leads to projects that are of the people for the people. Sibikwa activities include the Saturday Arts Academy, Teacher Training Programmes, and the Storytelling Festival.
Contact sibikwa@iafrica.com
6. Drama-based Look at Female Genital Mutilation - Nigeria
A Nigerian-based theatre group called Performance Studio Workshop has initiated a play and a film project in an attempt to change attitudes toward female genital mutiliation (FGM). The play "Sense of Belonging - the tale of Ikpiko" features seven women recounting their experiences with FGM. Ikpiko is a reference to the abuse against girls who are not circumcised in western Nigeria. The play is based on the real life experiences of women.
Contact: Chuck Mike Tel: (234) 1 / 26.34.864 and 26.33.651
EDUTAINMENT
7. AIDS Education in Africa: The uses of traditional performance
by Joy Morrison
Many forms of media are used to address HIV/AIDS. The paper proposes that if rural people are to be reached and persuaded to change behavior, expanded uses of more traditional media are needed. One such approach is forum, or interactive, theater where the format allows an exchange of ideas on the topic presented. "For two decades forum theater has been used as a popular means of community development in West Africa and Kenya to bring healthcare and other social development messages to rural people. These messages are brought in a format--dramatic performance--that is enthusiastically received."
8. Participatory Forum Theatre for AIDS Education
by Emma Durden and Dominique Nduhura
This paper outlines the process of a participatory forum theatre project, investigating the environment at the chosen factory site, and the prevailing knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS, the creation of an appropriate forum theatre play, as well as observations and comments on the performance at the factory. Final summative research investigates the impact that the forum theatre had on the audience, and the conclusion suggests how forum theatre, as an EE strategy, can be further used in a factory setting.
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Research Report: The Pulse of Online Fundraising in South Africa - Lessons and Challenges
The digital divide, insufficient marketing skills and experience, and gaining donor confidence are just some of the difficulties facing NPOs trying to fundraise through the Internet, especially in developing countries. These findings emerged in a collaborative study undertaken by the Thusanang project and the Charities Aid Foundation Southern Africa (CAFSA) to determine the feasibility of establishing an online fundraising facility for NPOs in South Africa, with the prospect of regional expansion at a later date.
Click here to read about the research
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STRATEGIC THINKING
9. Reflecting on Lessons Learned from the Ugandan Baaba project
by Kirstin Mitchell
This paper shares lessons learned from a project working with street youth in Uganda. "Research has shown that dramas can be interpreted in many different ways by the same audience. The Baaba project tries to ensure that plays are always followed up by a talk so that the intended message of the play is outlined. The impact of plays can be evaluated informally by putting questions to the audience, or formally through evaluation questionnaires. Simply providing street children with an opportunity to display their talent can be effective in breaking down prejudices."
10. Reflections on HIV & AIDS Education: Communicating a Behavioural Change Forum Theatre as an Alternative Approach
by Jakob Sloth Madsen
This article presents and assesses forum theatre as an alternative means of presenting a combined informational and therapeutic education, on men as an underrepresented target group, which can increase the use of male condoms. Furthermore, a second objective of the article and the research done is to present a methodology and guidelines that can be used in either other provinces of Mozambique or other cities on a global scale to build up an empirically based educational theatre.
11. Women's Voices & African Theatre: Case Studies from Kenya, Mali, The Democratic Republic of Congo & Zimbabwe
This report explores the significance of theatre as a means to freedom of expression for women in four African countries. It provides an historical overview of the development of theatre in those countries, as well as of the contemporary theatre scene. It also focuses specifically on how, and whether, women are able to access this form of communication, and the reasons it is particularly important to women in Africa.
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Join our evergrowing network of communicators across Africa and the world, send your programme experiences to Anja Venth aventh@comminit.com
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MATERIALS
12. Emergency Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN) Distribution & Retreatment, Mozambique
Following the extensive flooding that affected southern Mozambique during February 2000, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNICEF and several NGO partners distributed more than 200,000 ITNs (insecticide-treated nets) free of charge to flood-affected families. These families lived in IDP (internally-displaced persons) camps in the Manhiça district and re-settlement camps in the Gaza province. Community-based participatory sessions and live theatre-based education supported the ITN distribution. Assessments were then conducted to determine the impact of this programme, with a focus on comparing the effectiveness of different kinds of approaches.
13. AIDS & Theatre: How to Use Theater to Respond to HIV/AIDS
This manual is produced by young people for young people. The manual proposes that theatre offers an original and creative approach to the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The "theatre forum" - interactive theatre involving direct participation by the audience - is proposed to be particularly relevant in this instance. The manual illustrates how culture - including the arts life styles and value systems, traditions and beliefs - can be used for efficient prevention.
14. Realising Rights: Transforming Approaches to Sexual & Reproductive well-being
edited by Andrea Cornwall & Alice Welbourn
Discusses democratisation and gender by looking at the relevance of national machineries for the advancement of women. Appropriate mechanisms through which the mainstreaming of gender can take place are considered, and the levels of governance involved. The paper portrays a wide range of examples from around the world, from popular theatre in Nigeria to participatory research in Britain; from role-playing in Cambodia to visualising reproductive health in Zimbabwe and from collaborative planning in Egypt to community dialogue in the Andes.
15. Communication for Sustainable Development
by Hughes Kone & Jacques Habib Sy
This publication provides basic material on communication for development in Africa to students, teachers and researchers, on the one hand, and to development planners and actors on the other. The publication includes a summary of African field experience in using rural radio and television to further development goals; ideas for developing more effective communication strategies to support the battle against AIDS in Cote d'Ivoire; and an evaluation of a communication project on nutrition in rural areas, using interactive theater.
16. Playing for Life: Performance in Africa in the Age of AIDS
by Louise M. Bourgault
Playing for Life is a survey of African performance about HIV/AIDS. The work provides an introduction to the study of Africa through performance, as well as supplying information about a sampling of performance resources. Also, it aims to show how Africans are working to harness the energy of performance to help address the AIDS pandemic. This book focuses chiefly on the AIDS epidemic/AIDS performances in two African countries, South Africa and Mali.
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The Soul Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.
Please send material for The Soul Beat to the Editor - Anja Venth aventh@comminit.com
