KARACHI, Sept 8: Speakers at a workshop on Monday stressed that performing arts, particularly theatre, etc, were a very powerful media to get the message across a wider audience effectively.

They were speaking at a workshop on ‘Cultural Action for Change’, organized by an NGO, Actionaid. Besides writers, poets, artists and social activists, some 16 foreign delegates are also participating in the workshop.

The local participants, sharing their experiences of working with the community and reviving dying arts, said that the art of story-telling was dying and the young generation was just not inclined to the activity. They said cultural invasion, especially with expensive electronic equipment involved, was gradually drowning all other forms of traditional music.

The speakers, recounting their efforts, urged the older generation to arrange for teaching of the art to younger generation.

They stressed the need for reviving South Asian theatrical traditions that integrated singing, story-telling, dancing and miming. The suggested that spontaneous dialogue be revived as these could be utilized in conveying the message to a larger audience and bring about an early social change.

Delegates from Bangladesh said that they had revived an old traditional song from Sunderban region that highlighted the message of conservation of natural resources — forests, birds, etc — protection of bio-diversity and environment.

They said that their groups displayed paintings at the meetings and ‘pot songs’ and the message was instantly conveyed to the masses. They said that videos, with English sub-titles for a wider audience, were also played at the meetings and was also liked by people.

They said that issues like women empowerment and trafficking of women and children were also being addressed by them. They said that they had organized village theatre groups and trained villagers as masses could get the message easily through the people who came from amongst them and whom they knew.

They said that textbook-based stories were also used by the theatre groups which targeted schoolchildren.

The delegates from Ethiopia said that they were using theatre, songs and other performing arts to highlight the issues like rape, abduction, child-marriage, HIV/AIDS and deprivation of economic and social rights of minorities. They have also formed clubs in the neighbourhoods to raise awareness.

They said that gender issue was also very serious and that womenfolk faced discrimination in almost all walks of life.

The delegate from Ghana raised a serious issue being faced by poor old women in the northern areas of her country where women, after being accused of practising witchcraft, are sent to some places near a shrine to only wait for their death.

She said that anybody from the community could accuse any poor old women of being a witch. She is subjected to social boycott immediately and her family has to send her to the shrine. The delegate also showed a videotape highlighting the plight of such hapless women.

Dr Fauzia Saeed, Khalid Ahmad, Munoo Bhai, Kishwar Naheed, Samina Ahmad, Sheen Farrukh and others also spoke at the workshop.

The 16 foreign delegate are: Sarah de Nordwall and Alice Wunne from the United Kingdom; Masud Takhi, Mohammad Hameed and Fazil Ali from Afghanistan; Ginbowgish Kebede and Dejence Minilku from Ethiopia; Dr Khondoker Zohurul Islam, Akber Reza and S. M. Manjur Rashid from Bangladesh; Dr Shibesh C. Regmi, Achana Aryal, Badri Prasad Khanal and Suresh Chandra Pokherel from Nepal; Isaiah Kyengo from Kenya; and Akoto Coker from Ghana.