What is CCDC
The Centre for Community Dialogue and Change (CCDC) is an organisation based in Bengaluru, India dedicated to the promotion of Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) - particularly in the field of education. CCDC was founded in February 2011 by Radha Ramaswamy, an educator with 25 years of teaching experience and a passion for theatre and social justice. Since its inception, CCDC has conducted over 200 TO workshops and trainings, impacted over 5000 people and established itself as one of the leading organizations in India dedicated to the practice and promotion of TO.
The work that we do
The work that CCDC does can be broadly classified into three categories:
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1. TO for everyone - CCDC offers workshops, training and mentoring in Theatre of the Oppressed for diverse populations - from students, teachers and teacher trainers, to healthcare professionals, senior citizens, development professionals and others.
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2. TO Junction - CCDC works as a point of convergence for Theatre of the Oppressed practitioners in India and abroad.
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3. TO Literature - CCDC encourages documentation and research of Theatre of the Oppressed work in India.
How CCDC was born
Radha Ramaswamy, the Founder of CCDC, had been looking for a way to integrate her commitment to education and social justice, and her life long interest in theatre. Theatre of the Oppressed (TO), with its foundation in Paulo Freire's Critical Pedagogy and history of community education, appeared to be the perfect tool for this.
In June 2010, both Radha and her husband Ram travelled to the Mandala Center for Change in Port Townsend, Seattle, USA to take Marc Weinblatt's training for TO facilitators. Having been able to experience the power of TO, Radha invited Marc to conduct Theatre of the Oppressed facilitator trainings in India. Over 250 people, from diverse backgrounds - theatre professionals, social workers, college students, teachers and teacher trainers, doctors and medical students - participated in these workshops held in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad in January 2011.
At the end of this four-week intensive TO experience, Radha was convinced about the need for a concerted effort to introduce Theatre of the Oppressed in mainstream education in India and the Centre for Community Dialogue and Change, led by Radha and a team of professionals from varied backgrounds, was born.