Humanitarian Puppetry Overview

My involvement with puppetry and Humanitarian Organizations began when I was asked to be a puppeteer on a series of short film being produced by “No Strings Intl.” in 2007 called “Tales of Disaster”, but since then I have worked on many projects for several other aid organizations. I have conducted puppetry workshops in Southeast Asia, and developed both television and theater shows in East Africa as well as conducting puppeteer training workshops.

The basic idea is simple. Prevention is the key to address many health, social and safety issues, but people universally ignore messages of safety if they are presented in form of statements, or seem to come from authorities telling people what they should do.

However these messages are so important and life-saving that it is in everyone’s best interest to find innovative methods to effectively communicate these messages and get past the human instinct to put up a defensive wall to any message that is a “should”.

Puppetry has proven to be an effective communication tool because it can dramatize the issue, and show people making choices and dealing with consequences in a manner that is entertaining and memorable.

All of the aid organizations I have worked with took a chance on investing in puppetry and yet every program proved to be successful and effective. Another key element is to target messages to a young audience. Having messages of health and safety embraced by youths can have lasting effects and influence older generations.

It is a great advantage that the art of puppetry is often treated as an entertainment for kids, and with quality puppetry artistry the product can be entertaining to a wide demographic and still deliver messages, messages that are hard to convey with more conventional methods.

On this site I will document the work I have done with each organization that I have had the privilege to work with and show successes and lessons learned.

Some of these projects were conducted in the New York, while others took me to countries overseas. Some of these projects involved me teaching people how to use puppetry and create their own shows, while others were creating films in local areas using local talent.

Even in the United States the art of puppetry is elusive and there are only a handful of people who have the training and ability to design and fabricate quality puppet characters, and then perform them to a high level of skill. Quality puppetry, and art is key to conveying the message.

I hope the photos that are presented here inspire an appreciation for how the art of puppetry can make a difference and help solve problems all over the world.

Thank you for your attention,

Ronald Binion

Los Angeles

May 19, 2023