Performing Living Knowledge: Developing a replicable model for arts-based empowerment of marginalised urban communities in Uganda and Malawi

该项目是在“关心未来”方案下由澳大利亚人权委员会资助的“相交”项目乌干达分部开创的艺术和社会科学活动的基础上开展的。该项目与乌干达东部金贾Walukuba工人阶级社区的60多名志愿者合作了20多个月。它建立了一个代际间，种族间，宗教间，跨性别的社区群体的广泛差异的教育程度;从事体现艺术为基础的行动研究和对话辩论出现从当地确定的环境问题的持续进程。该项目导致了横向-社区对社区，以及纵向-社区对利益攸关方和决策者-干预和知识交流活动，将绩效和辩论结合起来。在社区凝聚力、信心、宣传和行动主义方面取得了显著进展（McQuaid & Plastow 2017;电影《我们是瓦卢库巴》https：//vimeo.com/171216540/e04de5b695）。该小组于2015年11月注册为基于社区的组织“我们是Walukuba”，以表彰参与者赋予该项目的变革价值。该提案建立在该小组的不可预见的成就之上，超出了最初的研究目标和我们的弗里斯兰启发方法（弗里埃尔，1970年），这引发了一个良性循环的行动（以艺术为基础，对社区相关问题的具体探索）和反思（小组讨论所开展的活动产生的批判性反思），以及社区表示愿意继续共同努力，培养他们的技能，成为更有效的社区倡导者。在与"我们是瓦卢库巴“（We Are Walukuba）-以下简称”瓦卢库巴“-协商后，一致认为，为了使该团体能够长期自我维持，并完成向一个自信的独立社区倡导者团体的转变，需要由一系列艺术和组织技能方面的专家进行有针对性的培训。在2016年8月与WAW，Plastow和McQuaid举行的一系列社区会议上讨论了所需的技能。经商定，这些将在1-2周的时间段内交付，工人可以抽出时间工作，母亲可以得到儿童保育。每组6至12名受训人员将负责将学到的技能传授给更广泛的小组。项目第一阶段的影响将体现在利用所获技能举办的一系列社区表演和知识交流活动上，第二阶段的工作重点是扩大项目规模;展示它如何通过复制从乌干达经验中汲取的基本阶段，为以艺术为基础的对话性社区赋权提供可复制的模式，在马拉维Zomba的一个类似的工人阶级社区（Mtogolo村）进行了为期四个月的研究。在我们的马拉维研究员Zindaba Chisiza的特殊知识和联系的基础上，我们将与当地的高等教育合作伙伴-马拉维大学表演艺术系和当地的艺术非政府组织YONECO合作。我们将使三方平等合作，相互学习，这既是社区参与的新方法，也是分享所有关注社区选择的广泛调查主题的知识和观点。该项目的最后3个月将用于：* 共同编写一本社区书籍，分享两个地点的项目经验 * 共同制作一本多媒体网站形式的手册，解释项目方法 * 支持Chancellor学院根据项目审查和改革其艺术促进发展课程 * 支持非政府组织审查和改革其艺术促进发展培训和方法 * 在乌干达、马拉维和联合王国开展传播活动 * 评估马拉维和乌干达的工作影响以及对所有参与项目的人的影响。

This project builds on the arts and social science activities pioneered by the Uganda strand of the AHRC funded INTERSECTION project, under the Care for the Future programme. The project worked over 20 months with 60+ volunteer members of a working class community in Walukuba, Jinja, in eastern Uganda. It built an intergenerational, inter-ethnic, inter-religious, cross-gender community group of widely divergent educational attainment; that engaged in a sustained process of embodied arts-based action research and dialogic debate emerging from locally identified environmental concerns. The project led to both horizontal - community to community, and vertical - community to stake holders and policy makers - interventions and knowledge exchange events combining performance and debate. Marked gains in community cohesion, confidence, advocacy and activism were achieved (McQuaid & Plastow 2017; film 'We Are Walukuba' https://vimeo.com/171216540/e04de5b695). The group registered as a Community Based Organisation 'We Are Walukuba' in November 2015 in recognition of the transformative value participants ascribed to the project.This proposal builds on the unforeseen achievements, beyond original research aims, of the group and our Frierean-inspired methodology (Friere, 1970) that invoked a virtuous circle of action (arts-based embodied exploration of of issues identified as concerning the community) and reflection (group discussion of critical reflections generated by activities undertaken), and appetite expressed by the community to continue to work together and build their skills to become more effective community advocates. In consultation with We Are Walukuba - henceforth WAW - it was agreed that what the group needed in order become self-sustaining in the longer term, and to complete the transformation into a group of self-confident independent advocates for their community, was targeted training by experts in a range of arts and organisational skills. The skills needed were discussed in a series of community meetings with WAW, Plastow and McQuaid in August 2016. It was agreed these would be delivered in 1-2 week blocks where workers could take time out of work and mothers could be provided with child care. Each group of 6-12 trainees would undertake to in turn pass on the skills acquired to the wider group. The impact of this first stage of the project will be evidenced by a series of community organised performative and knowledge exchange events utilising the skills acquired.The second stage of the work is focused on scaling up the project; demonstrating how it provides a replicable model for arts-based, dialogic community empowerment, by reproducing its essential stages, learnt from the Uganda experience, over a four month period in an analogous working class community (Mtogolo village) in Zomba, Malawi. Building on the particular knowledges and contacts of our Malawian Researcher, Zindaba Chisiza, we will collaborate with a local HE partner- the Department of Performing Arts, University of Malawi, and a local arts-based NGO, YONECO. We will enable all three parties, working as equals, to mutually learn, both a new methodology for community engagement, and to share the knowledges and perspectives of all concerned about the community-selected broad topic under investigation. The final 3 months of the project will be given over to:* co-production of a co-authored community book sharing the experiences of the project in both sites* co-production of a manual in the form of a multi-media website, explaining the methodology of the project* supporting Chancellor College in reviewing and reforming its arts for development curriculum in the light of the project* supporting the NGO in reviewing and reforming its arts for development training and approach* dissemination events in Uganda, Malawi and the UK* evaluation of the impact of the work in both Malawi and Uganda and on all involved in the project.