Power of Play and Mind Adventures present gender sensitivity and awareness training

8 October 2015 06:30 pm Views - 1463

Power of Play in collaboration with Mind Adventures theatre company presents a gender sensitivity and awareness programme for the workplace: ‘Exploring Gender – Strategies for Good Practice’. 

The two companies are experienced corporate trainers as well as dramatists. These commonalities in addition to their longstanding mutual respect led to the formulation of a strategy and the pooling of resources to address the incredibly relevant topic of gender equality in the modern workplace. 

The workshops will be facilitated primarily by the Mind Adventures Theatre Company including actor and drama therapist, Tehani Chitty, Tracy Holsinger – award-winning director, actor and teacher and the company’s Artistic Director, and Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke – Associate Artistic Director and an actor, writer and director who specializes in Immersive Theatre. Sulochana Dissanayake, Founder and Artistic Director of Power of Play, will also step in to aid with conceptualization and handle certain segments of the programme. 

“Gender awareness is an issue effecting companies that wish to progress according to the global trends of providing an equally empowering and safe work environments for both genders,” said Sulochana.

“Studies show that when women and men are relatively equal, economies tend to grow faster, the poor move more quickly out of poverty, and the wellbeing of men, women, and children is enhanced. Thus, gender sensitive capacity-building initiatives have far-reaching, positive impacts on communities. 

Given the hallmark political, social, cultural and economic changes Sri Lanka has experienced within the last five years, thinking about how to create inclusive workspaces for all employees has become a top priority for fastest-growing industries of Sri Lanka. However, given our prevailing culture, these conversations can be difficult to conduct with openness and honesty. Therefore, We facilitate this awareness through the lens of puppets, theatre and performance, encouraging open, uninhibited and non-judgemental discourse on the gender issues in the workplace.” 

Tehani explained how participants’ perceptions of gender are explored via theatre games and activities to encourage ‘learning through doing’. “Through theatre games participants get to explore this topic with the safety of dramatic distance. Since the topic of gender can be a challenging one this sense of distance will enable participants to explore it without fear of judgment. The information we gather from the workshops allow us to provide companies with feedback and recommendations to improve gender sensitivity within their organisations.”  

The interactive approach adopted by Power of Play and Mind Adventures aims to create a comfortable and respectful space in which issues pertaining to gender relations are explored honestly and in detail. The workshops are designed to maximize potential for personal and organisational growth, encourage an understanding of gender relations and the obstacles to participation based on gender, as well as identify how to apply this awareness to create professional environments that empower. For more information about the programme visit www.powerofplay.lk.