Palama - A bridge to a different way of working

Case Study of the Palama Forum Theatre Project for Enterprise Culture Sri Lanka, 2005-2008

Project document | 01 October 2008
Enterprise for Pro-poor Growth, or Enter-Growth for short, is a project of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), and the Ministry of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion. Its goal is to contribute to pro-poor economic growth and quality employment for women and men, through an integrated programme for development of micro and small enterprises that targets two provinces with a high incidence of poverty (North-West and North-Central); that addresses issues at the national level that will enhance impact in the provinces; and that transfers lessons learnt to the national policy level as well as other parts of the country. This case study has been written partly as a learning tool to tell the story of Palama as it unfolded, and partly as an overall assessment and consolidation of the numerous evaluation processes which the Palama campaign has incorporated. This first part of the case study explores the intentions and underlying purposes of Palama. The second part of this case study looks at the extent to which Forum Theatre has been an appropriate strategic choice in order to meet the overall intentions of the Palama campaign and the tactical realities of making the project happen.