Cultural Outreach for Security Awareness

Leveraging theatre and drama to foster National Citizen Security culture

In the current fast-paced world, citizen security has become a critical priority. As nations grapple with many security challenges, inventive approaches to fostering a culture of safety and vigilance are the need of the hour. One such approach, highlighted in the National Citizens Security Culture campaign, leverages cultural tools like theatre and drama to raise awareness about contemporary security issues.

It is time to explore this further through a few examples:

1.      Street Theatre (Nukkad Natak): Short, impactful performances in public spaces

1. • Community Vigilance: Skits demonstrating citizens coming together to prevent potential robberies by identifying and reporting suspicious activities.

1. • Cyber Security: Acts showcasing common cyber threats and ways to handle them.

2.      Forum Theatre: Performances with audience participation that impacts the storyline

1. • Forestalling Radicalization: Portraying a young person lured into extremist ideologies, highlighting the process of radicalization. The drama can showcase how family members, friends, teachers, and community leaders identify early warning signs and counteract the problem through dialogue, support, and engagement. Audience members can suggest ways to intervene and support the individual toward a positive path.

3.      Plays in Schools and Colleges: Educational plays performed by students with teachers or theatre professionals mentoring them

1. • Cyber Safety for Kids: A dramatized scenario where students act out a cyberbullying incident and demonstrate steps to report and address it.

4.      Historical and Mythological Dramas: Dramatizations of historical or mythological stories with contemporary parallels

1. • Indian Epic(s): Exploring modern security issues through the lens of Ramayana and Mahabharata narratives. For instance, a play depicting an episode from the Mahabharata where community solidarity prevents an external threat, highlighting modern-day community security efforts.

1. • Indian Freedom Struggle Reenactment: Emphasizing the critical importance of collective action and vigilance through compelling stories from the Indian independence movement.

1. • Village Guardianship: Stories of local heroes who protected their communities from invaders and the application of those values in modern society

5.      Folk Theatre Forms (Jatra, Tamasha, Bhavai): Traditional folk theatre forms incorporating local dialects and cultural elements

1. • Traditional Wisdom: Using folk tales and local stories to impart lessons on vigilance and community cooperation, addressing modern security challenges such as cyber threats and urban crime.

Implementation Strategies

To implement these strategies, partnering with local artists and cultural groups is essential to ensure authenticity and community resonance. Furthermore, schools and colleges can incorporate these performances into their extracurricular activities, educating the younger generation on pertinent security issues. Locally, government bodies and NGOs can fund and organize these performances, ensuring wider reach and sustainability. Social media can come in handy for the proliferation of messages.

By harnessing diverse forms of theatre and drama adapted to India’s cultural context, we can enhance awareness of citizen security. They will enlighten, inspire, and mobilize communities to take proactive measures to ensure their safety and that of those around them.

Live Examples

Jana Sanskriti

Jana Sanskriti, a renowned theatre group in India, has been using theatre as a tool for social change for decades. Their performances often address pressing social issues, including security concerns. Through interactive street plays and workshops, Jana Sanskriti engages communities in discussions about safety, vigilance, and collective responsibility. By drawing their attention to local security problems, they empower individuals to take action in their neighborhoods.

Mandala Center for Change

In the United States, the Mandala Centre for Change employs Forum Theatre, a method developed by Augusto Boal, to address community issues, including security. In their workshops, participants act out scenarios involving security threats and collectively explore solutions. This participatory approach not only educates but also equips community members to take proactive steps in preventing and responding to security challenges.

Integrating theatre and drama into security awareness initiatives represents a creative and impactful approach to fostering a culture of safety. By engaging citizens emotionally and intellectually, these cultural tools can effectively disseminate critical security information, address social issues, and promote community cooperation. The National Citizens Security Culture campaign in India exemplifies how such innovative strategies can transform security into a collective movement so that society becomes civilized, self-reliant, and progressive.