Journal of Drama and Theatre Education in Asia (DaTEAsia)

The triennial grand event in the Applied Drama community, the International Drama/Theatre and Education Association World Congress (IDEA Congress), was held in Beijing in July 2024. Tied up with a performance at my university, I was unable to attend. Meanwhile, I happen to be appointed by the Hong Kong Drama/Theatre and Education Forum (TEFO) this year as the journal editor again, taking over from Dr. Pansy Tam, who has dedicated herself selflessly to the editorial work for a total of 11 years since 2013 (A special shout-out to Dr. Muriel Law for sharing the heavy workload from 2013 to 2021). Pansy suggested that the journal could seize the opportunity to publish a special feature on the IDEA Congress right after its recent closure, so I had the privilege to peek at some of the conference papers before our readers, sort of consolation to me for missing the chance to be there. As I recall, when the IDEA Congress was hosted by TEFO for the first time in Hong Kong in 2007, we, with our limited experience, managed to successfully organise the largest drama education conference in the world through cautious and humble efforts combined. The excellent essays published back then were compiled in Planting Trees of Drama with Global Vision in Local Knowledge: IDEA 2007 Dialogues (Shu & Chan, 2009). 17 years later, the IDEA Congress returned to China. Readers, either present in the capital or not last year, can revisit or catch a glimpse of the event through the texts of our selected essays.

This study explores how Forum Theatre can enhance the sense of community and personal development among community members by examining a specific Forum Theatre project in Hong Kong through pre- and post-semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. Forum Theatre, an interactive form of theatre pioneered by Augusto Boal, is utilised to engage participants in dialogues around social issues and foster community cohesion. Key findings highlight the development of a sense of community, psychological self-awareness, social learning, and empathy-building among participants. The research underscores the importance of shared emotional connections, equality, and autonomy in enhancing better community cohesion and communication. The study reflects that Forum Theatre offers unique advantages in addressing community needs and concludes with suggestions and future research directions for the broader application of Forum Theatre in Hong Kong to support personal growth and social change.

International Drama / Theatre and Education Association (IDEA) is an international association encouraging and supporting drama/theatre and education. It was founded in Portugal in July 1992 through the initial Congress in Porto. IDEA has since held international congresses in Brisbane, Australia, 1995; Kisumu, Kenya, 1998; Bergen, Norway, 2001; Ottawa, Canada, 2004; Hong Kong, China, 2007; Belém, Brazil, 2010; Paris, France, 2013, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2022. Each Congress is hosted by an IDEA’s member working in collaboration with the IDEA Elected Officers. Each IDEA Congress has a unique identity reflecting a sense of place and culture of the host member.

The IDEA 10th Congress was organised by IDEA members from China IDEAC (International Drama/Theatre and Education Application and Cooperation Congress) in Beijing, China, from 16th to 20th July 2024.

Yi-man Au from Hong Kong and Jeffrey Tan from Singapore, two Asian educational drama practitioners who have met at several of the IDEA conferences, decided to jointly reflect on their recent experience in the IDEA 2024 Congress in Beijing and collaborate on this Conference Review.

The conference review offers a snapshot of the keynotes and programmes in the IDEA 2024 Congress Congress in Beijing. It also offers some recommendations for future IDEA Congress organisers to consider when putting together an international drama/theatre conference.

How important are some routes in our lives? A young theatre group delved into what Tarlington and Michaels (1995, as cited in Norris, 2016, p. 124) refer to as Playbuilding, seeking to explore the depths to which theatre, and specifically collective artistic creation, can negotiate relationships, obstacles and unexpected events in order to seek personal and social empowerment and change. One event, the rail disaster at Tempe on 28th February, 2023, the deadliest in Greek history, became the natural linchpin around which these processes converged. Through drama/ theatre education procedures and contemporary performing art forms, the performance Routes in Light and Darkness re-looked at the content, drew on insights and made new meanings. Both a meaning-making method and a (re)presentational form, the drama/theatre process led the group to data generation, analysis, interpretation, and representation of the issues that young people wished to discuss and transform in their society. The conclusions of the research highlight the contribution of performative methods of enquiry in helping young people, not only to share their personal experiences and problems in times of crisis but also, through collective creation, reveal and identify wider discourses that young people care and are concerned about. To empower the young people through critical thinking and active participation, the performative inquiry methods enable fostering of new social imaginaries for envisioning a more just and democratic world.

This keynote by Jonothan Neelands explores the enduring value of drama and theatre education as a transformative force for learning, imagination, and societal change. Drawing from over four decades of experience, Neelands reflects on his recent work in cultural leadership, particularly in Coventry, UK – a city with a rich history of resilience, diversity, and social action. Through stories of cocreation, ensemble practices, and city-wide cultural strategies, he demonstrates how the pedagogical principles of drama education– empathy, ensemble, participation, and reflective practice – can be applied at scale to foster community regeneration, inclusion, and democratic dialogue. Neelands emphasises the ecosystem theory of change, where partnerships across sectors collectively work toward shared goals using culture as a unifying and empowering tool. He argues that theatre is more than performance; it is the art of togetherness, cultivating empathetic citizens through creative collaboration and storytelling. The keynote closes by reaffirming theatre’s role in shaping compassionate, inclusive societies, especially through engaging the unheard and the marginalised. It is a call to continue imagining, creating, and learning together – whether in classrooms or entire cities – through the golden threads of theatre.

Call for Submissions to The Journal of Drama and Theatre Education in Asia (DaTEAsia) IDEA Congress 2024 Special Issue The Call. DaTEAsia welcomes submissions for a special issue to mark the 10th IDEA (International Drama/Theatre and Education Association) World Congress. The aspirational Congress theme of “A Harmonious World” can be interpreted broadly. Congress participants—both in-person and on-line—are encouraged to submit, as are IDEA members across the globe. Academic articles, practitioner pieces and congress reflections are all acceptable formats. The Journal. First published in 2010, DaTEAsia is the only academic journal...