参加型開発の新たなツール：地域劇

―「つながり」と「信頼」を育てる劇の力―

抄録

It is now commonly recognized that participatory approaches are indispensable in the field of development assistance. A lot of tools for participatory approaches have been invented during the past several decades, such as RRA, PRA, PLA, etc. We, however, think those tools are insufficient to motivate local people and to take charge of their own problems because the conventional tools put too much emphasis on “logical thinking”. There is no doubt that logical thinking plays a great role in old practices, but sometimes, human relationships get complicated by logical thinking. So it gradually became obvious that careful consideration should be given to human emotion rather than reason.

Therefore in this report, we propose “the community drama” as a new participatory tool, which bases on the function of “story” not logic. The community drama has been held in Akashi-city Japan for fifteen years by the local people. Nobody is a professional actor or director. Ordinary people make the scenario by themselves and act roles on the stage. It is its purpose that distinguishes the community drama from ordinary dramas. The purpose of community drama is not only to entertain audience but also to solve local problems such as crimes, garbage, disintegration of the community, disaster prevention, aging and so on. In fact, a lot of problems have been solved through this community drama, and a variety of public institutions gave them awards.

We carried out a questionnaire survey to measure the effects of the community drama on social capital of participants. The results indicated that the community drama increase social capitals, and that it could be an appropriate tool for participatory development. Then we discussed the principles of the community drama, how it strengthens people's networks, and how it solves the local problems.