ASSITEJ International | ASSITEJ International

Stefan Fischer-Fels
ASSITEJ Executive Committee

To a year full of hope

The craziest year of my life ends, this year of the pandemic which infected the social and cultural life everywhere. Children were much too often forgotten or seen as “learning machines”. The rights of children to participate in cultural life of a society was cut down. Artists were also forgotten and cannot do their work. The life of ASSITEJ suddenly changed. Instead of an unforgettable World Congress which should have happened in May 2020 in Tokyo – we emigrated into the Digital World. We created some remarkable Coffee Sessions in order to stay in contact with you.

The craziest year of my life ends, this year of the pandemic which infected the social and cultural life everywhere….
ASSITEJ International

ASSITEJ World Congress & MIRAI 2020: a blended physical & virtual event

🌏 Online + Tokyo, JPN 🗓 22 -31 March 2021 20th ASSITEJ CONGRESS to be a blended event The 20th…
ASSITEJ International

ASSITEJ Coffee Session in January: Equity & Equality

🌍 Online Language: English The pandemic has been a great leveller on the one hand, but is has also exposed the…
ITYARN, Knowledge-Experiences-Reflections.

Diversity, Representation and Culture in TYA: 4th ITYARN Book

ITYARN, the International Theatre for Young Audiences Network is the official research network of ASSITEJ. Every three years, at ASSITEJ’s…
Knowledge-Experiences-Reflections.

Everything I Learned from My Engagement in the Shanghai Teenagers Theatre Festival

By Scott Yanshun Cai Towards the end of 2020, I participated in the 2nd Shanghai Teenagers Theatre Festival – as…
ASSITEJ International

Watch the Manifesto in Italian

Theatre Bradipoteatar, a new member of ASSITEJ International from the Republic of San Marino, had the Manifesto recorded by kids…
Manon van de Water
member of the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ

Covid-19, the CRC, and the Right to Participate

Covid-19 has upended our lives but more importantly, perhaps, that of children and youth who are affected educationally, socially, economically, politically, and culturally, mostly through decisions and policies not of their making and not necessarily with them in mind.

Covid-19 has upended our lives but more importantly, perhaps, that of children and youth who are affected educationally, socially, economically,…
ASSITEJ International

ASSITEJ Coffee Session in March: Voice of Children

🌍 Online Language: English In these coffee sessions, let’s hear the voices of children: How do they feel in these times?…
Knowledge-Experiences-Reflections.

“The Curious Theatre” – an inspiring allegory by Goran Tomka

“Curious theatre is filled with talking trees,self-doubting critics,permeable borders,welcoming smiles,migrating plants,inexplicable hopes,never-ending deadlines (…)” Video: Hear Goran Tomka read the…
ASSITEJ International

It’s World Children’s Day!

On November 20, the Convention on Children Rights of 1989 is celebrated around the world. ASSITEJ is joining its voice,…

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ASSITEJ Coffee Session in January: Equity & Equality

18 December 2020 12 h 21 min

By: Kaatje De Geest

No responses

🌍 Online Language: English The pandemic has been a great leveller on the one hand, but is has also exposed the... Read more →

🌍 Online
Language: English

🗓 Session 1: 21 January 9 am CET

See the time in your region
Register here (session 1)
(You will receive a confirmation message from ASSITEJ)

🗓 Session 2: 21 January 3 pm CET

See the time in your region
Register here (session 2)
(You will receive a confirmation message from ASSITEJ)

The pandemic has been a great leveller on the one hand, but is has also exposed the many ways in which economic, political and social systems create and sustain disparities between peoples and between different parts of the world. ASSITEJ will explore through diverse voices, new ways to work together that may help move us towards a more equal and equitable sector.

Categories: ASSITEJ International

Tags: ASSITEJ International, Coffee Session, webinar
ASSITEJ World Congress & MIRAI 2020: a blended physical & virtual event

15 December 2020 11 h 36 min

By: Kaatje De Geest

No responses

🌏 Online + Tokyo, JPN 🗓 22 -31 March 2021 20th ASSITEJ CONGRESS to be a blended event The 20th... Read more →

🌏 Online + Tokyo, JPN
🗓 22 -31 March 2021

20th ASSITEJ CONGRESS to be a blended event

The 20th ASSITEJ World Congress & International Performing Arts Festival for Children and Young People / MIRAI 2020 will take place from 22-31 March 2021 as a blended physical (‘On Ground’) and virtual (‘Online’) event. This will mean that we will be able to provide our members with maximum accessibility to the event, whether they are able to travel in person to be with us in Japan, or whether they need to stay home and connect with us virtually.

Festival

At least 13 international productions have committed to attending the ‘On Ground’ festival and, along with a strong programme of 45 Japanese productions, this will form the heart of the local offering. In addition, workshops, symposia and other events will take place physically in Japan for those who are able to join us, as well as for the Japanese delegates and local audiences.

All productions will also be shared virtually through the ‘Online’ festival, which will feature the main programme, a fringe programme and an innovation programme, which will be available online from 22 March through to 11 April 2021.

Congress and Professional Exchange

The Congress will be shared through video and written reportage ahead of a series of scheduled discussion meetings which will occur live on ZOOM. Each day will see three to four sessions in different time zones, which will include workshops, symposia, discussions and social events, allowing for all to participate in elements of interest to them.

Partnerships

We are delighted to announce that we are working with two partners on the ‘Online’ Festival, Congress and Professional exchange programme; National Arts Festival in South Africa will be providing the technical and web platforms for the programme, while Performing Dialogue will be providing all contributor and attendee resources and support, including liaison, communication, and bridging the gap between the ‘On Ground’ and ‘Online’ events.

We believe that with this approach we will see an unprecedented participation in an ASSITEJ World Congress, since many people will be able to be part of the global virtual engagement, who did not previously have the opportunity, while simultaneously ensuring that for those who can, the magic of the live experience is protected and celebrated.

We look forward to meeting you in Japan in March 2021, whether in person or online.

Categories: ASSITEJ International

Tags: ASSITEJ International, ASSITEJ Japan, ASSITEJ World Congress
ASSITEJ Coffee Session in March: Voice of Children

14 December 2020 16 h 41 min

By: Kaatje De Geest

No responses

🌍 Online Language: English In these coffee sessions, let’s hear the voices of children: How do they feel in these times?... Read more →

🌍 Online
Language: English

🗓 Session 1: 1 March

Registration will open later (session 1)
(You will receive a confirmation message from ASSITEJ)

🗓 Session 2: 1 March

Registration will open later (session 2)
(You will receive a confirmation message from ASSITEJ)

In these coffee sessions, let’s hear the voices of children: How do they feel in these times? How do they cope with the crisis, with their fears? How do they see the adults’ behaviour in this crisis? What are their wishes and hopes? We will get impulses from Argentina, Japan and Germany.

Categories: ASSITEJ International

Tags: Coffee sessions, webinar
To a year full of hope

14 December 2020 16 h 14 min

By: Kaatje De Geest

No responses

The craziest year of my life ends, this year of the pandemic which infected the social and cultural life everywhere.... Read more →

The craziest year of my life ends, this year of the pandemic which infected the social and cultural life everywhere. Children were much too often forgotten or seen as “learning machines”. The rights of children to participate in cultural life of a society was cut down. Artists were also forgotten and cannot do their work. The life of ASSITEJ suddenly changed. Instead of an unforgettable World Congress which should have happened in May 2020 in Tokyo – we emigrated into the Digital World. We created some remarkable Coffee Sessions in order to stay in contact with you.

We worked on and launched the ASSITEJ Manifesto, which is a milestone for the organisation. It can be used and adapted for every city, every region, every country: The fight for budgets and the meaning of arts and culture AFTER the pandemic have already started and will be massive in the near future… So we need good words and ideas why theatre for young audiences is „relevant“ for the system. In the Manifesto, there are a lot of strong arguments. Let’s go and fight for the arts and the children with words and actions for the arts and the children!

In the previous coffee session that was held on November 25, we asked ourselves about our well-being: stress management and empowerment – and it was an unforgettable moment of sharing: we did a digital yoga session, talked about a “Social Media Detox”, about humour and other methods to stay alive in the crisis. Birte Werner and Julia Dina Hesse from ASSITEJ Germany introduced a game called “The circle of influence” which was very encouraging for many participants!
And we will go on!

We invite you to participate in the next coffee sessions on 21^st January 21 and 1^st March 21. Please note these dates in your calendar. We will invite experts to discuss equity / equality as a global challenge. And we will hear the voices of children: How do they feel in these times? How do they cope with the crisis, with their fears? How do they see the adults’ behaviour in this crisis? What are their wishes and hopes?

The pandemic takes a lot of energy. But still we are working on the future. ASSITEJ was part of the first ever “European Theater Forum 2020” in November, together with all the other important theatre organisations like ITI or IETM. We worked on accessibility, diversity, inclusivity and sustainability and had relevant discussion panels on these issues. This culminated in “The Dresden Declaration” which is another substantial document for political arguments within and beyond Europe. As a result of this engagement, we are now starting to work on a collaboration project together with ITI (International Theater Institute) about sustainability.

There will be a time after Covid-19. And we have to be prepared for the real challenges. We have learned a lot in 2020 – so let us look forward to a year full of hope. And hopefully with a meeting in Tokyo in March 2021!

Categories: ASSITEJ International