Darpana for Development

Since 1980 Darpana for Development has been creating innovative grass roots projects using performances as entry points in dealing with issues of development and social change, with varied end audiences. Some of these have necessitated working with and retraining traditional itinerant folk performers in becoming change agents; others have required putting together groups of people from tribal areas and training them as actor-activists to go back into their own villages with new ideas of change; some have meant creating performance pieces that can reach the policy maker or the politician; yet others have taken Darpana's own performers on the trail of potential HIV carriers. Some projects have grown out of our own initiatives; others have been created for the government or funding agencies or for other NGOs.

Darpana is pleased to partner with the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation (JRCPF), to engage college students in the Performing Arts across India in community service projects.  The aim is to develop social responsibility and entrepreneurship in young people while they are in college and make our communities stronger.

Through Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, college students across India in the Performing Arts discipline can apply for the grant.

What is a CASE Grant?

The Carter Academic Service Entrepreneur Grant is a competition among college students for the most innovative proposal to serve the community.

In its continuing collaboration with UNICEF, Darpana is training 50 young people from 25 villages in the Valsad area as peer educators. These young people will be taught skills ranging from developing board games to working on scripts, songs, jingles, and short plays that deal with issues of maternal and child health, HIV and hygiene. The four month project is divided into three one-week workshops where the group will train at Darpana, followed by three month-long interactions in their own villages. Efficacy is being monitored by benchmark surverys on related issues at the beginning and end of the project. The first weeks training will end September 6th. The youngsters have already produced 40 innovative jingles and 6 skits.

A young graduate and researcher from the UK, Mirea Lynton Grotz has started working on putting together a book of case studies on Darpana for Development and Darpana Communications' work in using the arts and television for social change. The case book, which will be aimed at those wanting to use the arts for development, for NGOs, for artists, and for funding bodies, will highlight one case in each of the several categories that are used by Darpana. A CD Rom will accompany the book.

Darpana has worked as a development communications agency for over two decades with NGOs and government agencies wishing to transmit particular messages to particular audiences. In November 2004, for the first time, Darpana for Development took up the village of Fatehpura to try its hand at implementing change rather than only initiating it. This very poor and totally backward village in Gandhinagar, has been working with D-D activists and today stands reinvigorated by these efforts at education, empowerment, formation of groups for savings, cleanliness and nutrition drives and employment training for women. As a celebration of reaching a six month target, and for having walled a path together there is an event on May 25th at Natarani. Children will sing and dance, women will show and take orders for the products they have begun to manufacture and other women will cater rural food at the cafe.