During the World Congress in Tokyo, Stavros Stavrou, the President of ASSITEJ Cyprus, initiated the formation of an ASSITEJ European Small States Network. After various online meetings among the small ASSITEJ centres in Europe, the network was formed with the goals of regular information exchange on projects in each country and the realisation of a joint exchange project hosted in the respective countries every year.
In order to define a country as a “small state,” the definition was borrowed from the European Sports Networks, which defines a “small state” as having less than one million citizens. Hence, the following countries became part of the network: Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, and San Marino.
After numerous online meetings due to the pandemic, the following representatives of each country were selected:
– Aleksandra Di Capua (Bradipoteatar San Marino – Artistic Director)
– Stavros Stavrou (ASSITEJ Cyprus – President)
– Larus Vilhjalmsson (ASSITEJ Iceland – President)
– Georg Biedermann (ASSITEJ Liechtenstein – President)
– Jean Bermes (ASSITEJ Luxembourg – President)
– Marta Vella & Daniel Azzopardi (ŻiguŻajg Festival Malta – Festival Director & Former Festival Director)
The first joint exchange project of the Small Countries Network will take place in Liechtenstein from 25 – 28 October 2023, where all representatives will meet in person for the first time. Liechtenstein will host the first exchange with a focus on Luxembourg. Besides a three-day collaboration meeting, delegates will also see the multidisciplinary show “SAHASA” by Jill Crovisier/JC Movement Produktion from Luxembourg in Schaan. The exchange will also include a Next Generation project by the Luxembourg choreographer Jill Crovisier with the theme “CREATIVITY – the ART of being in the flow,” where two young adults from each of the Small Countries Network countries will participate.
In addition to numerous meetings between the delegates of the participating small countries and a visit to the Liechtenstein Minister of Culture, Manuel Frick has been planned. They will also visit various cultural institutions in the performing arts in Liechtenstein: the Kreativ Akademie, the TAK Theater Liechtenstein, and the Junges Theater Liechtenstein and exchange ideas with the ASSITEJ members in a get-together event where the Liechtenstein choreographer Jacqueline Beck will showcase her work.
At the end of the first joint meeting of the small countries, the young artists of the six participating countries will show the results of their dance workshops in a short presentation. On this day, the Offene Jugendarbeit Liechtenstein has put together a colourful programme, including street art, breakdance, graffiti workshops, freestyle football, parkour, urban dance, and circus animation for families, kids, and teens to get involved and take part.
Additionally, the Luxembourg artists, all with a background in freerunning, parkour, and freestyle football—Lynn Jung is one of the most successful free runners worldwide—will go to Liechtenstein schools on Thursday and Friday and conduct workshops with the students.
The fundamental structure of these exchange meetings is that each of the small states will host all representatives of the other states in turn. At each of these exchanges, not only is the hosting country the key focus, but also a project of one of the other states. This time, for example, Liechtenstein is the host, but the artists from Luxembourg are the focus of the exchange. This structure and the upcoming exchanges in each of the countries will also be one topic of discussion during this year’s Small Countries Network exchange in Liechtenstein.
