From 16 to 21 June 2026, the ASSITEJ Regional Cooperation Programme: African Vogue project reached a high point with its first General Meeting, held at the Djaram’Art International Puppetry Arts Festival in Toubab Dialaw, near Dakar, Senegal. Over several days, teams from ASSITEJ Burkina Faso, ASSITEJ Côte d’Ivoire, and ASSITEJ Senegal came together to advance this regional initiative, which aims to strengthen theatre for children and young people in West Africa.
This meeting enabled the partners to assess the project’s initial results, consolidate their shared vision and lay the foundations for the next phase, which will focus on artistic creation, training and the dissemination of works. Representatives from Mali and Guinea-Bissau, alongside a delegation from ASSITEJ International, also took part in the discussions, reflecting the growing interest in this regional cooperation initiative.
To mark the festival’s launch, the Grand Théâtre National de Dakar hosted an international meeting, during which members of ASSITEJ Senegal, festival delegates, and representatives from institutions and civil society worked together to identify the conditions necessary to develop creative works for young audiences in the sub-region. The meeting received extensive media coverage.
In addition to attending working meetings, participants attended performances, met artists and professionals from a variety of backgrounds, and took part in the festival’s highlights. These moments of shared experience fuelled discussions on the challenges facing the performing arts for children and young people, whilst fostering dialogue between the sub-region’s diverse cultural contexts.
ASSITEJ Senegal was also pleased to present the results of the Lambe Lambe training course it had organised with the artist Nina Vogel (Brazil) to the delegates, for ten artists from the region. This form of puppetry, which uses recycled materials, enables artists to create and perform for children entirely independently, whatever the technical conditions. This is the technique that will now be used to produce ‘African Vogue’ shows in Senegal.
One of the key outcomes of this meeting was the endorsement of common guidelines for the project’s future productions. The partners reaffirmed their commitment to developing artistically ambitious works that are accessible to all audiences, rooted in African realities and designed to be performed beyond national borders. This shared vision provides an essential foundation for building a sustainable network of cooperation between artists, cultural organisations and ASSITEJ’s national centres.
The event in Djarama thus confirms the relevance of African Vogue as a forum for exchange, co-creation and innovation. By fostering collaboration among stakeholders in the region, the project helps build the capacity of performing arts professionals and offers children and young people better access to high-quality works.
The next stage of the project will take place in December 2027 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, as part of the PAJE festival. This event will further enrich this collective endeavour, which makes artistic collaboration a driving force behind the development of theatre for young audiences in West Africa.
The African Vogue Programme, supported by the European Union and ASSITEJ International, harnesses artistic creation to promote education, social inclusion, and the development of children and young people in West Africa through training, creative projects, and artistic exchanges.
Wangninlba Koné – President ASSITEJ Côte d’Ivoire
Mamby Mawine – President ASSITEJ Senegal
Thierry Oueda – President ASSITEJ Burkina Faso
