Our story

Scheherazade Initiatives was founded by Caroline Watson in 2011. Born and brought up in Hong Kong of British parents, Caroline set up and ran China’s first and only social enterprise, Hua Dan, in 2004, empowering migrant workers to run theatre workshops in their communities.  These individuals were low-skilled workers employed in factories, construction sites and in the service industries, at the intersection of globalization and China’s rise to power, yet rarely receiving an equitable share in the wealth generated globally through these supply chains.  Her work in China with Hua Dan over seven years enabled her to develop a model for training underserved populations to use the power of participation in theatre as a tool for personal and social transformation, working with over 32,000 women and children across the country.  Caroline has been recognised as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2011, amongst other accolades.   

In recent years, we have begun developing our model into a global one that encompasses migrant and refugee populations across the world and we are now documenting our tools and processes into an online learning program with support from the David Rockefeller Foundation.  This will enable us to train a minimum of 50 women each year, who can then go on to work with thousands of people across the world using our innovative programs and workshop models.  This work is based on ideas that were first scoped out with the support of INSEAD MBA students, who helped us to develop a feasibility document on our social franchise model.  We are now using this in our plan for scale.  It is anticipated that Hua Dan and Scheherazade would be the direct employer in the first few years, with the possibility of individual project managers and entrepreneurs spinning out and becoming independent franchisees in later stages of the project.

The Covid pandemic also gave us an opportunity to take our workshops online, enabling us to reach previously inaccessible populations and to explore with our participants what it means to stay resilient in this time of huge uncertainty.  In the past year, we have been able to expand our work to not only reach women and children in China but also participants in countries as far apart as the US, Europe, Afghanistan, Iran, India, all of them dealing with their own experiences of uncertainty in the face of the pandemic and the attendant economic crises in their respective countries.   Migrant and refugee populations are at particular risk of social isolation, health challenges and domestic violence. Our unique and innovative model of using theatre-based training to empower the leadership skills of migrant and refugee women is proving particularly effective in helping women develop a sense of community, and develop the inner resources and resilience to navigate the crisis – and turn them into the resilient, entrepreneurial leaders that their communities will need to rebuild.

We are finding that the women gain self-confidence in being able to express themselves with other women in a safe, intimate setting; discover how liberating it can be to move their bodies and find their voice with the dance and vocal exercises we share; develop a shared language around their experience and helps them to set goals for what they want to achieve when they emerge from lockdown. This mirrors the kind of results that we have observed for many years in our physical workshops.

More Stories of Impact

  • Shong Na

    Zhong Na is committed to participatory theatre, helping children and adults use participatory theatre to better understand themselves, others and the world around them, in order to establish self-confidence, stimulate their own potential and creativity, and build a more stable, fair and harmonious society with their own strength.

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    In 2007, she jointly launched Hua Dan children’s theatre programme. She has since served as a collaborator, curriculum designer, theatre workshop facilitator and trainer for new collaborators and volunteers.

    In June 2009, she participated in a Welsh art exchange for refugees.

    In 2010, she went with the Beijing Improv Group (BIG) to Seoul and participated in the Seoul International Improv Festival.

    In 2016, she was at the world’s largest international art festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, with Hand Made in China.

    She also helped to run Hua Dan’s “Dream Theatre” summer camps, designing the curriculum and assisting in the theatre workshops.

  • JinLian

    Meet JinLian who is based in Chengdu in the Sichuan Province of south-west China on the border with Tibet. JinLian has been working with us for many years, her latest project was working with migrant schools, and young people, helping them to understand themselves. JinLian is also working with other non-profit organisations and community centres.

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    JinLian says ‘Our programme is called ‘The Magic Bean’ and we mainly work with children and their parents. We have many activities which include making picture books and turning them into plays, which encourages creativity and promotes reading. The theatre element allows the children to express themselves through their chosen character. The children love our activities as it allows them to work with other people and to find out about their potential in a creative way. Also, the parents feel that an hour’s activity with their children is very healing and helps to cure them of their problems, as they better understand their children’s needs. My dream is to have our own small theatre where adults and children can play the characters they want. More and more people are aware of the insights that drama can bring to their lives.’

  • KK

    KK is undertaking our Train the Trainer programme and is delivering storytelling workshops, helping parents and children and with a final goal of helping the men of the family to get involved. She also works with a group of facilitators of non-profits who tell stories to children in the form of theatre.

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    KK is also based in Chengdu, and she works with JinLian on ‘The Magic Bean’ project. KK observes that theatre is a new form of teaching in China and people in Chengdu are not familiar with this, but they are receptive to it. The children are able to express themselves via different characters, which not only improves their creativity and their listening skills, but it also helps them to release their frustrations and concerns which in turn improves their team spirit. The parents also feel that these activities help to bring peace to their relationships with their children and they are happy to devote their time to this, as the performances include them and allow them to perform themselves, which develops their own potential.’

  • Hongyun

    Hongyun, grew up in the countryside in Hebei Province and is now living not far from Beijing as there are more opportunities, although it was hard for her to meet new people and start collaborations. However, she has been exposed to new situations and different industries and she loves her new life and her work. Hongyun also participated in our Train the Trainer programme. Her project is called the ‘Women’s Growth Group’ and she supports women and families with sick children. Her workshops use participatory theatre which has significantly helped these families. Before, the women put all their energies into their sick children and cared little for themselves and rarely had a smile on their faces, but now they are learning to take care of themselves too.

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    Hongyun worked with 10 families during her summer workshops, her project was called 'Blossoming and Unity', where they created characters which they turned into performances. The children made speeches, and the parents liked it very much, as the children were enthusiastic and they encouraged the parents to participate. The children and their parents were able to forget about their problems and have fun and they found it very calming and healing experience.

    Hongyun told us ‘My work makes me very grateful for life, as everyone needs joy and good surprises My dream is to establish a club for women’s growth, already 1000 women across the country have joined together to celebrate the establishment of the Women’s Growth Foundation. My project has also taught me many things and I respect everyone and learn from their wisdom. This programme has been a very positive experience for me and has given me the opportunity to help many people.’