By Jennifer Myers

Some puppets like Harvey the Hound, Kermit the Frog and Pinocchio have earned fame and notoriety, but can puppets change the world? The answer is "yes," according to a University of Calgary professor.

As part of a one-of-a-kind development studies course at the University of Calgary, instructor Dr. Ronnie Joy Leah and her students attended the first-ever puppet protest in Olympic Plaza last weekend, and will participate in Puppet Power 2007, a conference on puppets as agents of social change, presented by the W.P. Puppet Theatre.

The protest was an example of how to use the arts to raise awareness and create social change, says Leah.  The course-Development Studies 401.04-begins May 14 and will help prepare students to work in the area of social advocacy for non-profits and NGOs by giving them hands-on experience in arts activism and social change.

"The course is a wonderful opportunity for students to address important social issues through creative arts like puppetry," says Leah. "We can raise awareness about the environment, share our visions for peace, educate people about AIDS-by using music, dance, visual art, theatre-and puppets."

Following the conference, students will identify a community partner, such as a local non-profit organization, and design a project using creative arts such as puppetry to advocate or raise awareness about an issue. "It is an opportunity for students to learn about social justice, it connects the university to issues in our community and it lets students apply their knowledge," says Leah.

Sarah Lalonde, a development studies student, has completed course credit by working with the All Nations Theatre Society to create a performance-based forum for people to discuss issues of discrimination. She is taking the arts activism and social change course to apply the technique of puppetry to educate youth in her home community of Saulteau First Nations in Moberly Lake in northeastern B.C.

"Using creative arts such as puppets de-personalizes the issue and makes it easier for people to talk about problems they might otherwise be uncomfortable with," she says. "Using the arts for activism is also a lot of fun and it interests people because of that."

Adds classmate Sarah Rich-Zendel, another fourth-year student registered in the course: "The arts are a great way to engage people because they work on many different levels. It's a lot more universal because it appeals to different cultures and age groups."

Rich-Zendel will graduate next fall from international indigenous studies and plans to use her degree towards a career in social justice. "This course will expose me to a different application of activism in a hands-on way. So not only will I have learned about social issues through my degree, but I will have the skills to make positive social change."

The Puppet Power 2007 conference is May 25 to 27 at the Rozsa Centre on the University of Calgary campus. Registration for the conference is open to the public and accessible at the W.P. Puppet Theatre Society's website at www.wppuppet.com.