Moving beyond developmental paradigms: A case study and analysis of a TfD workshop in Bangladesh

摘要

The authors give a personal account of a one week Theatre for Development Workshop held in Manmathapur in Northern Bangladesh, sponsored by the British Council. The practice of short, workshops facilitated by urban 'experts' in impoverished rural areas is heavily critiqued. This opens into a broader critique of the manipulative and paternalistic attitudes which often undermine the effectiveness of post-colonial development communications, due to global power imbalances. Modesty is urged for the strategizing and practice of such workshops through a return to the participatory principles of Paulo Freire. The paper describes the advantages of 'Barter Theatre' as a methodology which attempts to ensure equality in the exchange of skills and ideas between marginalized, host communities and visiting facilitators. The potential of such intercultural 'bartering' is linked both to the injustices caused by, and potential resistance to, globalized communications.