Communicative empowerment of the most disenfranchised population on earth, women living at subsistence or poverty level, is an urgent necessity if we want to move towards more sustainable and equitable futures. I work towards creating methods to use vocal, or communicative, empowerment to enhance the participation of women for more gender-equitable energy development. Some of the methods I use are drawn from or influenced by Theatre for Development.
Contact Information
Our Focus
I am currently working with the Center for Energy and Environmental Security at the C. U. Law School (on the advisory board) on a fuel-efficient cook stove project in Peru. We will also be hosting our second Energy Justice Conference in Nov. 2010 at which I will be presenting. More can be read about that at www.worldenergyjustice.org. I am also co-founder of Mothers Acting Up and lead a program called the Mother Tour through MAU. More can be read about that at www.mothersactingup.org.
Our Experience And Interest In The Four PCIA Central Focus Areas
I work with communities to facilitate them discussing their self-identified concerns facing energy development projects. My role is to use theatre to help women and communities to empower their voices to more fully participate in the energy development taking place in their community. I am also working on a methodology to use theatre as a tool to identify and problem-solve around cultural obstacles so communities can work to resolve conflicts before technologies are actually implemented.
The cook stove skits we developed in Guatemala were used to help educate and invigorate interest in the cook stoves being sold by Community Enterprise Solutions. That is the only marketing experience I have to date.
Not my area.
Also not my area.
Relevant Publications or Studies
The intervention in Panama can be read about more fully in an article by Beth Osnes, “Empowering Women’s Voices for Energy Justice,” in the Spring 2010 issue of Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy (vol. 21)
Our Contribution to the Partnership
We have a Vocal Empowerment Workshop that is a powerful tool for helping women empower their voices so that they can more fully participate in energy development at every level. We also have developed an outline for community performed skits that dynamically communicate the benefits and costs of cook stoves. These skits are adjusted to be culturally appropriate to where they are being performed. We have implemented these skits and the Vocal Empowerment Workshop in Panama and Guatemala.
