753 Mehedibag, Chittagong, Bangladesh

Puppet Show

Puppet: An innovation communication form for reaching young people

Puppet is a very old cultural medium (art form) of Bangladesh. There was a time when puppet acting or shows used to held commonly in rural Bangladesh. In course of time it become an extinct cultural art form. People those were involved in this artform, couldn’t keep continuity of that tradition. Many of those puppet theater artists have changed their occupation. Since its journey, BITA introduced puppet and puppet theatre anew as a medium for mass communication cum information dissemination. With the intent to strengthen puppet theatre, BITA gradually organized various workshops. Those were attended by puppet theatre experts from home and abroad such as Suresh Dutta (India) and Weiland Jagodoroski (Germany). Through these efforts BITA tried to make some young, efficient puppet artists. Several of them are utilizing the gained expertise to enhance their means of living. BITA, with its youth force, is using puppet in communicating different social issues. Puppet theatre has been proven very effective medium to raise awareness among the indigenous people in Chittagong Hill Tracks, Rohingya community in Cox’s Bazar and the deprived, marginalized people in different locations, on the issues like health, education, sanitation, environment, women empowerment, human trafficking prevention, safe migration, contemporary issues such as ideological violence. Besides, by organizing puppet theatre in urban areas, BITA has successfully created enthusiasm for this artform among the urban youths. Around 150 youths were involved directly in BITA’s puppet programs for many years. Also, BITA has used puppet successfully in the ‘Theatre in education’, which is a significant program of BITA. At school level, youths have expressed their interest and participation in this program. Various development partners and Government agencies have appreciated BITA’s excellent initiative of awareness raising through this lost but popular medium and have recognizedpuppet theatre as an important medium in development communication.

Generally, puppet is considered as a costly medium. But BITA organize puppet theatre in very low cost by utilizing trained expertise and technical knowledge, using natural and available waste materials, which will give sustainability of BITA’s puppet theatre program. BITA believe, it’s very important to integrate puppet theatre in social and educational programs. If we can bring back this lost popular artform effectively, puppet theatre will sustain as a traditional cultural medium of Bangladesh.

A Global Tools on Children’s Education

The indigenous children at CHT are distinct and different in respect of race, language, culture, heritage and religion. BITA observes closely that in CHT ensuring child Right is challenging due to lack of information, lack of appropriate media & tools for expression, absence of cultural interaction among children. Except cultural tools no other alternatives are there for information dissemination.

This alternative media Puppet opened a window for exploring children’s communication capacity & participation by using natural resource elements, wastage products, traditional sound & music. By this time it has been proved that Puppet would be the best communication means for creating a social movement. Based on that experience BITA developed a puppet theatre making process based manual for children. This manual is designed for 8 days long residency workshop working about 50 hours for Adolescent & Youth. In the manual 27 sessions has been incorporated. Children will capacitate them using this alternative communication tools. Now Children are disseminating the message about Child Sex (CSA) issue, identify the perpetrators, what will be the roles of parents, community people and other duty bearers for protecting children from violence. Save the Children has recognized the method as a global tools for children’s communication and is planning to share the manual with its global partners.