New democratic designs and world making: The theatrical public sphere and the struggle for the New Constitution in Zimbabwe – Access to justice and accountable institutions for all. Chapter 2
Original version
Glørstad, V. & Chikonzo, K. (2024). New Democratic Designs and World Making: The theatrical public sphere and the struggle for the New Constitution in Zimbabwe – Access to Justice and Accountable Institutions for all. In Afolaki. T., Hakib, A. K. and Smith, B. (Eds.) Applied theatre and the sustainable development goals : crises, collaboration and beyond. (pp 30-51) RoutledgeAbstract
Goal 16 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals speaks of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. This includes providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. In this chapter, we examine the role of applied theatre in building strong institutions around the practice of making a constitution in Zimbabwe. We explore how Victory Siyanqoba (Ndbele for Victory) theatre, led by Desire Moyoxide from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, addressed strategies to empower marginalized populations about the possibilities of the new Zimbabwean Constitution (2013), particularly regarding human rights. We examine their work in 2014–2017 and propose that it links performance and human rights activism, productively intervening in the public sphere and enabling marginalized citizens to debate their constitution.