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TYA Forum – Current Pandemic and the Future 

Organized by ASSITEJ Pakistan and Theatre I Entertainment Trust India 

The current pandemic has shaped various challenges for theater for young audiences. TYA being already marginalized, relatively small and challenging to produce, the current situation has made it more difficult. From our basic needs to adequate resources to create art, we need to understand challenges, think collectively and find solutions for the new normal of the world of children and young people. 

ASSITEJ Pakistan and Theatre I-Entertainment Trust India organized a three days online TYA Forum about current pandemic and future from 5th to 7th June 2020. The forum was focused on starting conversations, on questions such as how the pandemic has affected performing arts and theatre for young audiences, country updates for mutual learning, ways for artists to deal with it and any initiatives and project models that can be adopted. This three days TYA Forum was led by seasoned artists and arts managers from 6 Asian countries including speakers Bina Jawwad (Pakistan), Ruchira Das (India), Sue Giles(Australia), Evgenia Startseva(Kazakhstan), Kim Seok hong(South Korea) and Monoovash Rahimian (Iran). These forum were moderated by Shoaib Iqbal (President, Assitej Pakistan) and Imran Khan (Artistic Director, Theatre I-Entertainment Trust India). 

The forum had 230 attendances in 4 sessions, by 50 participants from 17 countries. 

The conversations happened around key topics that include: digital as the new space, online safety and child protection, new protocols and sharing with other artists, masterclasses and exchange, creating virtual spaces which can exist for young theatre artists, looking into non-conventional spaces for performances that comply with Covid-19 SOPs, using lockdown as an opportunity to focus on innovation, change in production and consumption of art, festivals and the new language of audience engagement and digital as a new space for storytelling. 

The detailed report of the forum is available here: Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) Forum

ASSITEJ Pakistan opens membership 

After three years to establish the foundations of ASSITEJ Pakistan as national, Assitej Pakistan opens its door for Pakistan based cultural organizations, collages, schools, universities and individuals to get membership under the rules and regulations of ASSITEJ International. 

For membership details, Please visit; https://assitejpakistan.org/membership/