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| Gabfai Community Theatre Group was established in 1996 in Chiang Mai as a private organization of popular media in a minor level without any consideration of political and economical ideology. We employ community, art, contemporary art, alternative media and creative activities to empower and enhance capacity as well as create various alternatives or space for exchanging knowledge for individuals, communities, organizations, and alliances. And we intend to expand space for people’s media in order to participate in social activities; for example, campaigns for raising awareness, prevention or solution ranging from community, public to policy level on the basis of peace and equality by having “Gabfai” as a popular media for campaign for an organization. |
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In the middle of 1996, Mr.Amarin Plengrasamee travelled from Bangkok to Chiang Mai to create a pilot project about new community theatre apart from theatre groups in Bangkok in order to respond to current problems and occurrences under cultural context, by which people in communities had been affected especially, in Upper North of Thailand. The target area was Chiang Mai because it had capacity and readiness to form a theatre group in the long run. By August 1996, the first fund was granted and children in Umphur Muang (in the city) interested were welcomed to participate in the project. After 1-month of training, the new generation of volunteers were ready to travel and later, the small group was developing to an organization. The development of the organization can be concluded in 5 periods (during 1996-2012) as follows :
Period I (during 1996 – 1997)
Building learning methods to produce personnel and create mobile theatre to raise a campaign of stopping child prostitute (in rural and urban areas).
Period II (in1998)
Establishing Community Theatre Project (Mobile theatre and Constitution to Reduce Violence in Family, Equal right of Men and Women)
Period III (during 1998 – 2000)
Reduce trouping – focus on working with communities in the North (Prevent child prostitute)
Period IX (during 2000-2006)
Alliance procession, civil politics, expansion of alternative media, Community’s Leaders (Protection & Prevention of human trafficking)
Period X (during 2007-2012)
Expanding popular media work apart from theatre to raise campaigns of positively disciplinary creation, awareness of media, anti-violence caused by globalization, health and peace education. |
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