Makhampom Study Tour 2009 What is the Makhampom Study Tour? The Study Tour is an intensive 18-day applied training program in community theatre techniques. Participants will engage in cultural exchange with other international tour participants, local Thai and ethnic communities, and our extensive group of Makhampom workers and volunteers. You will explore local Thai lifestyles in Northern Thailand and learn about contemporary social issues facing communities, and at the same time experience lots of laughter and fun. The study tour will take place primarily at our living theatre at Makhampom Chiang Dao centre. The 18-day program includes: • Four-days of Theatre for Community Cultural Development training. • Three-days of performance devising process • Two-day homestay and exchange program with Makhampom’s partner hilltribe communities • Two-day theatre tour to villages in Chiang Dao • An opportunity to lead an intensive workshop for Chiang Dao youth theatre groups • Participate in a Children’s Day event at the Living Theatre • Story telling for primary school children with the Makhampom Book Bike (mobile library) • A process of intercultural performance making and community performance • An Opportunity to experience a program of visits and sightseeing in Chiang Dao and Chiang Mai • A copy of Makhampom’s publication ‘Art of Peace’, video documentary, and t-shirt. Who should attend? The Study Tour is suited to artists, community development workers, students (arts, cultural tourism, social work and international studies) educators and teachers, youth workers, activists and adventurers. Why should I attend?  • To learn effective community engagement tools transferable to a range of work environments and sectors. • To engage in and experience authentic processes for cultural exchange • To develop ongoing relationships, both of friendship and practice, with the potential to translate into future programs and collaborations • To have fun, move outside your comfort zone and increase your awareness of a ‘global community.’  When is the 2009 Study Tour? Study Tour dates for 2009 are Friday 26 June until Monday 13 July (inclusive) How much does it cost? Full fee: $2,450 AUD per person (excluding airfares) Student/Unwaged Concession fee: $1,950 AUD per person (excluding airfares) Fees include all internal transport costs, food and accommodation, programmed social events. A snapshot of the 2008 Study Tour !6 Australians and 1 Japanese participant joined us in 2008. Good health, good spirits, and good performers made the Study Tour a dynamic event. Those staying in Pang Daeng were brought into first hand contact with the scale of their eviction crisis and their history of struggle. The performance made by the group, telling the tale of a girl pulled away from her community in search of work, was beautifully performed using a mixture of physical performance, puppetry, and the aboriginal tale of Tiddalick. If the final performance at Pang Daeng was magical, the revue performance at the farewell party was just cheeky… a wonderful Study Tour in 2008. Take a peek at this video prepared by a participant of the 2007 Study Tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aMOrqnxS2I Comments from past participants ‘By joining the study tour I hoped to learn a few new tricks for working with culturally diverse communities. I did! However, it is the philosophy, the spirit and the sense of fun that Makhampom revels in that inspires me ........’                                                                                                                 Jennifer Nield, Arts Therapist ‘I would strongly recommend anyone with the chance to taste a bit of ‘Makhampom magic’ -it will stay with you for life’                                             Kate Breen, Director -Burma Program, International Rescue Committee ‘Makhampom works with a joy, energy and openness that quickly had participants at home and experiencing a culture they would never have seen in other circumstances.’                                                                                Kevin Poynter, Lecturer, Charles Sturt University   Download Makhampom Study Tour 2009 Download Registration Form ST09 Download Makhampom Foundation  Visitors Information Kit