Workshop Acting Together. Labour Movement, Migrant Rights and Strategies in Cross Community

Workshop Acting Together. Labour Movement, Migrant Rights and Strategies in Cross Community
Organised by TNI
Forum Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark, 20 September 2002

This workshop by TNI, held on Friday, September 20 th , from 19:00 to 21:00, had a special format that combined presentations by Speakers and "Forum Theatre", was chaired by Brid Brennan (TNI).

The introductory input on the challenge of migrant domestic workers for the Trade Union movement was given by Bridget Anderson (migration expert and Research Associate Oxford
University).

Natasha Pearce (Kalayaan - Justice for Migrant Domestic Workers) presented the concept of Forum Theatre that was initially developed by Brazilian Augusto Boal as an educational and empowerment methodology.

Andrea Haase, a trainer in Forum Theatre led the workshop in several role-play activities. Jennifer Jones, Marlia Sunaryo, Grace Opiyo and Maria Fe Mondejar presented a short theatre play, telling Anna's story, the story of a migrant domestic worker and the problems she
encountered - through the recruitment stage to employment and violation of her rights as a
domestic worker.

The play was then presented a second time. This time the audience could interfere at any time to take over Anna's role and try to change the plot and find solutions for Anna's specific problems. After the very lively Forum Theatre Fe Jusay (Commission for Filipino Migrant Workers) presented the Endorsement Campaign for a Charter of Rights for Migrant Domestic
Workers, which had draws on UN Principles and established labour policy in Europe.

Finally Lucy Rix (RESPECT - Europe wide network supporting the Campaign of Migrant Domestic workers) presented a Passport campaign, which will document the migrant
domestic workers' experiences in having their Passports confiscated by employers and the
impact of this on their lives.

Approximately 50 participants joined the Workshop - a mix of participants from Asia and Europe as well as migrants living in Europe - not only listening but also actively participating in the Forum Theatre. The workshop that demonstrated the capacity of migrants from
different nationalities to work and "act" together, was very enthusiastically received by the
participants. Besides, the Workshop showed an innovative approach to campaigns and also a
new approach to empower not only migrant domestic workers but also to mobilise the
solidarity of the participants from Europe and Asia.

Migrants who get the opportunity to participate and trained in Forum Theatre acquire new skills and become more creative in testing new solutions for problems arising in their work situation - like missing documentation, lacking payment, no contracts. This participative
process, in which migrant domestic workers develop and revise the plot themselves by entering fictitious but realistic situations, enables them to find solutions for their problems, probably with sustainable effects not only for themselves but also in enabling them to impact positively on the society where they live and work.

The Endorsement campaign and the Passport campaign are ongoing activities which link the participants to involvement towards generating support for an improvement of the situation of migrant domestic workers. Besides the Charter as well as the Passport campaign use the
experiences of migrant domestic workers to reinforce their impact.

All together, the combination of analytical presentation, active demonstration and participation in Forum Theatre as well as the call for direct action in the campaigns was a very complete approach and showed a variety of sustainable strategies in addressing the problems
of migrant domestic workers.