About

Capacity Development in HIV and AIDS Education through Applied Drama and Theatre

Drama for Life (DFL) is a programme born in 2006 with the idea of stimulating the use of applied drama and theatre practices in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Africa. These practices encompass drama in education, drama therapy, playback theatre, theatre in education, theatre of the oppressed, community theatre and theatre for development.

Mission

Drama for Life enhances the capacity of communities to take responsibility for the quality of their lives. We achieve this through a responsive integrated approach in arts activism, education and therapies, which is appropriate to current social realities, cognisant of the rich indigenous knowledge of Africa.
Through the performing and visual arts, we focus on:

• Capacity development in HIV/Aids education, activism and therapy
• Peace building, transformation and diversity management
• Human rights and social justice
• Environmental sustainability

Vision

To be Africa’s foremost leader in an integrated arts training, practice and research approach to health, socio-economic, political and environmental transformation.

Drama for Life has alumni and scholars from 14 African countries – Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

The objective is:

To enhance the capacity of young people, theatre practitioners and their communities to take responsibility for the quality of their lives in the context of HIV and AIDS in Africa. We achieve this through participatory and experiential drama and theatre that is appropriate to current social realities but draws on the rich indigenous knowledge of African communities.

The concept was developed by two German Technical Corporation (GTZ) consultants experienced in capacity development and a theatre and education specialist from Wits University, Johannesburg, in consultation with over 100 people from 10 countries in Southern Africa, on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat. A workshop was held in October 2006 in Johannesburg, South Africa to discuss the SADC DFL concept, the responsibilities and roles of participants and stakeholders, and issues of sustainability. The participants concluded: “DFL is about processes, not about a one-off performance; about drama as a healing force, beyond info-tainment, edu-tainment or didactic theatre!”

About the Drama for Life programme:

DFL is hosted by the Division of Dramatic Art, Wits School of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand. The Drama for Life Africa Office is situated within the Division. The DFL programme’s establishment and official first year has been funded by GTZ with support from the Goethe-Institut, the Southern African Theatre Initiative and the National Research Foundation.

Twenty-nine scholarships funded by GTZ were awarded to mature postgraduate scholars from nine African countries. These scholars represent some of the best academic potential in the field of applied drama and theatre studies, specifically in HIV and AIDS and quality of life education.

DFL was officially launched in February 2008 with the arrival and registration of 29 scholars at Honours and Masters levels at the University of the Witwatersrand. These scholars are committed to returning to their home countries to ensure the effective implementation of DFL training and research throughout Africa. At the launch, GTZ noted the historic role the organisation had played in DFL’s formation, and the Goethe-Institut made a public commitment to the development and sustainability of the programme.

More about the Drama for Life project:

• DFL is an African programme that addresses HIV and AIDS education through applied drama and theatre in the formal and non-formal education and community sectors.
• DFL offers a world-class African postgraduate programme that aims to integrate research, theory and practice. There is no other programme of its kind in the world.
• DFL is the first programme to critically analyse, evaluate and research the past 25 years’ dramatic approaches to HIV and AIDS awareness and behavioural change in Africa.
• DFL is the first programme that addresses HIV and AIDS from an African, regional, cross-border perspective; it perceives HIV and AIDS as a regional and international crisis.
• DFL is the first programme that trains trainers in methods that integrate contemporary practices with indigenous knowledge. It seeks to embrace the rich and diverse African cultural traditions within the broad continuum of applied drama and theatre processes.
• DFL is dedicated to research, the publication of research, and the sharing of research and all related knowledge through a DFL Resource Centre and other forms of knowledge sharing in Africa.
• DFL is dedicated to human resource development, job creation and the realisation of sustainable, community-building projects throughout Africa.
• DFL is anti-xenophobic, anti-racist, and anti-stigmatisation.

Milestones and Accomplishments of the Programme:

• DFL was officially launched in February 2008 with the registration of 29 scholars at Honours and Masters levels.
• All the students have completed the first-semester course requirements and are progressing with their independent research projects.
• The Africa Research Conference in Applied Drama and Theatre will take place in September 2008. Several leading international practioners and academics have confirmed their attendance.
• The 2008 DFL Festival is scheduled for November and will be an annual flagship activity to broaden partnerships and networking with regional stakeholders, NGOs and community theatre initiatives.

Synergy with the Wits 2010 Strategic Plan:

The DFL programme is well positioned to advance the Wits 2010 Strategic Plan and to establish its position as the leading African university with a rigorous research culture. The DFL programme is committed to developing continent-wide strategic partnerships that will make Wits an innovative force for public good. The programme is already attracting outstanding individuals in the field.

The Wits DFL programme includes country projects which will result in widespread distribution of graduates who will disseminate skills and training within their regions. By training trainers, the project will have a ripple effect within communities and the region.

Furthermore, the programme aims to make a direct and sustainable contribution towards several of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the areas of:

• HIV and AIDS – DFL’s primary vision is to develop capacity in HIV and AIDS education
• Pedagogy and curriculum development – DFL’s emphasis is on the education of effective, holistic, contemporary pedagogical approaches that will make an impact on teachers and students, theatre-practitioners and audiences alike across Africa
 
• Leadership development – DFL serves to build leadership among drama and theatre academics, researchers and those who use drama as a medium in the healthcare and education sectors throughout Africa

Creating DFL practitioners

The 29 2008 Drama for Life scholars who completed their postgraduate degrees have since embarked on a 300 hours of supervised internship programme in their home countries, which they must complete in order for them to become certified DFL practitioners.

The 300 hours of internship are closely supervised by the DFL programme in collaboration with its technical partners and organisations which are hosting the graduates.

A certified DFL practitioner is trained at postgraduate level to accomplish the following outcomes:

• Work as a master trainer - training trainers in HIV and Aids education, prevention and rehabilitation
• Implement applied drama and theatre in developmental, education, health, arts and culture and youth projects
• Facilitate health education about HIV and Aids
• Manage, direct or facilitate any project in the theatre and arts sector
• Subscribe to the principles of monitoring and evaluation in applied drama and theatre as proposed in the Pan-African Network Charter
• Committed to the Charter of Ethical Practice for Applied Drama and Theatre Practitioners
• Work with children, adolescents and adults in the formal and informal sectors

Barely four months into 2009 DFL has started receiving impressive internship progress reports from the graduates and their host organisations.

Most of the graduates are attached to organisations with which they had an existing relationship, while others like Basimenye Mwalwanda, Orlando Govo, Sarmento Manual, Munyaradzi Chatikobo, Kudakwashe Chitambire, Remo Chipatso, and Ndiyapo Machacha have joined new initiatives in organisations in their home countries and neighbouring countries. 

It is envisaged that most of the 29 graduates would have completed the 300 hours of internship by June 2009.