Building a movement to restore our shared humanity
My Story
In the aftermath of September 11th, I arrived in Beijing with a strong desire to contribute to the excitement and energy precipitated by China’s opening up. Learning Chinese, I encountered a world in transition, with China’s rise to power forcing a re-examination of everything the West believed to be true about itself – and others. My passion for women’s issues and my growing awareness of the huge rural to urban migration taking place in the country, gave me a front row seat on China’s emergence onto the world stage, at the same time as I, too, emerged from the shadows of who and what I thought I was.
Born in Hong Kong of British parents, I had been acutely aware of the inequities of power and opportunity between the ‘colonised’ and the ‘colonisers’ and developed an early sensitivity to the inequities in our world. Shuttling between the glittering skyscrapers of colonial Hong Kong and the poverty and desperation of the Asia of my childhood, cemented in me a deep understanding of the power imbalances that defined our world. My deep and compassionate heart told me a more nuanced story of the West’s supposed dominance in the world and an opportunity to witness a new chapter unfolding.
Hua Dan
During my time in China, I succeeded in building the country’s first social enterprise, Hua Dan, dedicated to using participatory theatre to develop the self-confidence and leadership of thousands of migrant women and children.
My experience enabled me to work alongside those who were at the coal front of globalisation, women moving from the countryside into the cities searching for new opportunities in the hospitality industry and the factories making the electronic and technological goods that have powered the huge economic growth that all the world has benefited from, especially the West.
Extending the work globally
Through a deep love for humanity and a realisation that theatre and the arts could have a profound impact on so many others, I began to extend my work into other geographies. Working with Syrian, Palestinian and Afghan refugees and displaced people, through my founding of Scheherazade Initiatives, drew parallels with my knowledge and experience of migration, but I also began to get requests from corporate and government leaders in the higher echelons of power, business schools and academia, interested in using theatre in coaching, training, leadership development and organisational transformation. My work started taking me to the Middle East, North America and around Europe, broadening my understanding of the applications of this work and it’s place in the world, and showing how participation in the arts in transformational learning contexts can be embraced by all areas of society.
The Birth of The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership
I created The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership, using the arts in business, government and civil society settings. We have a leadership transformation and impact hub, Clos de Gaye, in south west France, as our flagship space to bring about positive change in our world through engagement with the arts, culture, creativity and immersion in nature.