Skip to main content

‘Next Generation’ Programme

ASSITEJ International is committed to engaging young and emerging artists and professional theatremakers from all over the world interested in theatre and performing arts for children and young people. ASSITEJ International’s ‘Next Generation Programme’ is an exciting and pioneering initiative offering both placements and residency opportunities which are designed to:

  • Create new opportunities for learning;
  • Support younger artists in developing their practice and in fostering international relationships;
  • Enable international exchange and collaboration between younger artists, and;
  • Welcome new faces to ASSITEJ.

‘Next Generation’ Residencies

The residencies offer a specially curated professional development programme for a cohort of ‘Next Generation’ participants designed to support artistic and cultural networking, exchange, and collaboration at international festivals and other international events.

The first ‘Next Generation’ group met in Adelaide, Australia, during the 16th ASSITEJ World Congress and Performing Arts Festival for Children & Young People. Since then, there have many cohorts of ‘Next Generation’ participants attending ASSITEJ International events all across the world:

  • Okinawa, Japan (2012);
  • Linz, Austria (2013);
  • Warsaw, Poland (2014);
  • Berlin, Germany (2015);
  • Birmingham, United Kingdom (2016);
  • Cape Town, South Africa (2017);
  • Beijing, China (2018);
  • Kristiansand, Norway (2019);
  • Online During COVID-19 Lockdowns (2021);
  • Helsingborg, Sweden (2022);
  • In 2023, the ‘Next Generation’ Programme will take place in Sremski Karlovci, Serbia;
  • In 2024, the ‘Next Generation’ Programme will take place in Havana, Cuba.

Click here to find out more about the ‘Next Generation’ Residencies.

‘Next Generation’ Placements

ASSITEJ International supports ‘Next Generation’ Placements to provide younger and emerging theatre artists, producers, administrators, and other TYA practitioners with unique opportunities for international mobility within the Theatre & Performing Arts for Children & Young People field.

Through these placements, younger practitioners with an interest and / or experience in TYA have the opportunity to share experiences, learn, and work with practitioners in other countries within the framework of different projects such as festivals, seminars, workshops, forums, productions, etc.

These opportunities vary widely in their context, role, and duration, depending on the opportunities that ASSITEJ members have available and choose to advertise. However, they all are focused on encouraging contact, exchange, and collaboration between emerging and experienced practitioners.

Any person aged between 18 and 35 years old with an interest in TYA  may apply for a placement through this programme and may apply to ASSITEJ International for a limited amount of financial support.

Click here to find out more about the ‘Next Generation’ Placements.

Next Generation Network

The Next Generation Network is a Professional Network of ASSITEJ International. It is an informal network and framework for ‘Next Generation’ Programme alumni. It aims to support young and emerging artists to continue to build upon their experiences of participation in the programme’s residencies and / or placements. The aim is to strengthen the opportunities for international exchange and collaboration and to build new opportunities which support the development of young and emerging professionals worldwide.

Celebrating The Next Generation

In 2018, we celebrated 10 years of the ‘Next Generation’ Programme: