Theatre as a powerful educational tool

Program start 2011
Impacted population ongoing

Community-led development through theater.

Context

Whether for cultural, religious or social reasons, the people of Myanmar suffer from a significant lack of knowledge on crucial health and social issues and are often victims of this ignorance.

 

Our action

Coordination and implementation : FXB International – Partner : MyJustice 

This project is currently on hold.

The objective of Human Drama—the first program of its kind, designed in 2011 by the British Council and FXB in Myanmar—is to help people become aware of various issues related to health, human trafficking, domestic and sexual violence, gender equality, the dangers of social networks (fake news) or sexual and reproductive health and rights. FXB works in collaboration with the organization MyJustice to improve legal knowledge and access to justice in communities.

Unlike other methods of disseminating messages, such as brochures, this edutainment program has proven to be a remarkably efficient tool for communication and to raise awareness. The performers present short plays illustrating real-life problems and situations chosen by the FXB team in the targeted community. They encourage the audience to intervene at key moments in the performance, whenever the spectator thinks that he or she can say or do something that would change the course of events. Role-playing is a simple but effective way to address the issues at hand: the complementary performances and workshops allow audience members to analyze their own reality, become aware of the potentially negative impact of their actions on others, and thus gain a greater sense of ownership concerning the need for behavioural change. This technique also tends to create empathy among community members.

 

Program impact

Over time, the programme has built a solid reputation in Myanmar. It enables several thousand people each year to engage in critical discussions on more than twenty social issues.

Testimonial

My sister convinced me to attend a performance of Human Drama in my village. I learned that violence against women is not a normal part of life.

Cherry