Theatre for Women's Participation in Sustainable Development

Though development researchers have proven that the participation of women is necessary for effective sustainable development, development practitioners still largely lack culturally appropriate, gender-sensitive tools for including women, especially women living in poverty. Current tools used in the development approach often favour the skill set of the development practitioner and are a mismatch with the traditional, gendered knowledge and skills many women who are living in poverty do have. This study explores three case studies from India, Ethiopia, and the Guatemala that have successfully used applied theatre for women’s participation in sustainable development. This interdisciplinary book has the opportunity to be the first to bring together the theory, scholarship and practice of theatre for women’s participation in sustainable development in an international context. This work will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners in a wide variety of fields who are looking for creative solutions for utilizing the contributions of women for solving our global goals to live in a sustainable way on this one planet in a just and equitable manner.

Introduction 1. Obstacles and Creative Solutions 2. Theatre for Gender Equity in Maternal Health 3. Theatre for Stabilizing Population Growth 4. Theatre for Gender Equity in Clean Energy 5. Conclusion—Sustaining Gender Equity in Sustainable Development Through Theatre-based Methods Afterword: Report from Earth Summit in Rio 2012

Beth Osnes is Assistant Professor at the Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Colorado, US. She was recipient of the Chancellor¹s Committee on Women Awards, University of Colorado, 2009. She is co-founder of Mothers Acting Up, an international movement to inspire and mobilize mothers to advocate on behalf of the world’s children. In partnership with the Philanthropiece Foundation, Beth is currently touring her (M)other Tour, which consists of an original one-woman performance and workshop for vocal empowerment, to locations across North America and parts of Southeast Asia and Latin America.