Theme Meeting on the Use of Performance, 12-16 September 2000, Puebla, Mexico
A hands-on theme meeting on the use of performance for Drug Abuse prevention was organised in Puebla, a town about two hrs southeast from Mexico city, under the aegis of the Global Youth Network Project from 12-16 September. The aim was to tap the expertise of youth groups that are successfully using performance in order to write a short guide for other youth around the world who want to use Dance, Drama and Music as tools in their efforts to prevent drug abuse. Twenty people representing youth groups from India, Kenya, the US, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico attended the meeting. The meeting was structured and conducted by Jan Taylor of the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Control Commission (AADAC), Canada. Jan is a theatre expert who teaches drama and works with troubled youth. A number of fun and interactive sessions were organised to exchange views about the range of issues that young people need to consider while planning and implementing performance based interventions against drug abuse. The participants also came up with a helpful list of Tips. One of the most exciting exercises was the creation of imaginary countries. The facilitators, Gautam and Jan, came up with different sets of circumstances (political, economic, social, substance abuse and cultural ) that were then given to four different teams. Each of the teams was supposed to imagine themselves as citizens of a country that had 
these characteristics. To generate new ways of using performance, each group was asked to design a performance-based prevention programme that was uniquely suited to the circumstances of their invented country. Though all the groups that came to Puebla used performance in very different ways, they agreed that performance is a powerful means of helping young people discover their own power to change their circumstances. This helps us make rational and well-informed choices not only about drug use, but also about other lifestyle issues. This theme meeting will help produce a chapter on the use of performance to be included in the handbook that the Demand Reduction Section is producing for youth who want to set up Drug Abuse Prevention Programmes.