Goa, the land of beautiful beaches, is an extremely popular destination for tourists from different parts of the world. Unfortunately a serious area of concern is the proliferation of incidents of violence against women and children, drug abuse and crime. We are undertaking an innovative research on the vulnerabilities of women and children with community participation. The goal is to get community feedback on area wise driving factors and identify ways to combat increase in sex tourism and trafficking. Interactive street theatre shows in Konkani, Hindi and Marathi are being held in beaches, jetties, markets, bus stands, schools to build awareness on the issue. The shows are creating a public platform for discussion and providing insight into local push and pull factors.

We are carrying out a collaborative research with participation of local community on emerging vulnerabilities leading to trafficking in children and women in the Eastern Himalaya region including Darjeeling, Dooars and Sikkim. The goal is to research ways of bringing about safe migration and build structures for protection of women and children by getting an insight into the perspectives of the vulnerable segments of people in the region. We have undertaken an innovative approach of using interactive street theatre shows to create public forums for discussion on the issue.

A study is being undertaken in Malda, Purulia, Bankura, Nadia, Purba and Pashchim Medinipur to draw up an action plan for reviving folk based performing arts and painting as a means for sustainable livelihood. This is part of an innovative project undertaken by Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) to improve the socio-economic conditio and living standard of folk artists and artisans in ten districts of West Bengal and Orissa