March 20th is International Take a Child to Theatre Day, but this whole month we are reminded how important it is to llevar a un niño al teatro. And it should not be one month, of course; we need to remember this every day, all year long. We want to grab the moments and opportunities to expose children to theatre and theatrical activities, to give them theatrical experiences. Because that is what we love to do and why we work for and with children and youth.
The message from Malala Yousafzai and Guila Clara Kessous speaks for itself. We are lucky that we have these women join ASSITEJ to bring the message about the power of our art. What can I add to that?
Mientras escribo esto, estoy sentada en un avión de Bolonia a París, la primera etapa de un largo día de vuelo a través de 7 husos horarios. Tuvimos una reunión en Bolonia, la primera de este tipo, entre las cinco redes de ASSITEJ. Roberto Frabetti tuvo la brillante idea de reunir a representantes de las cinco primeras redes de ASSITEJ-.Tamaño pequeño, Escribir en local Jugar en global (WLPG), el Red Internacional de Investigación sobre Teatro para Jóvenes (ITYARN), el Red Internacional de Artes Inclusivas (IIAN)y el Red de próxima generación together for an open discussion on what the networks’ place in ASSITEJ is, how we can support each other, if and how we can work together, and how we see our future. We had representatives from both Berlin-where we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of ASSITEJ during the encuentro artístico en el festival Augenblick Mal! en abril de 2015, y en Birmingham, donde celebraremos el próximo encuentro artístico en el festival On the Edge en julio de 2016, que fue muy útil para la planificación a corto y largo plazo. Analizamos los temas y la historia de las redes y aprendimos mucho unos de otros y unos sobre otros.
We had a realization. The ASSITEJ networks are a 21st century phenomenon. There were no ASSITEJ networks before the 21st century, and for part of the first decade three of the networks developed more or less independently of ASSITEJ, although the miembros de la red también estaban conectados con ASSITEJ a través de sus centros nacionales. Y en el transcurso de la discusión de 3 horas descubrimos un sentido de propósito. Una misión de dinamizar, de ofrecer nuevas perspectivas, de integrar generacional, interdisciplinaria e interculturalmente-exactamente los temas de los tres próximos Encuentros Artísticos de ASSITEJ y culminantes Congreso mundial and Festival in South Africa in 2017. We discovered that each of the networks had a purpose to work with and within the other networks: all networks can use research (ITYARN); all networks have or invite Next Generation members; all networks aim to be inclusive (IIAN); all networks embrace plays, playwriting, (cultural) translation and devising (WLPG); all work on or with Theatre for the Very Young (Small Size). And all are ready to get to work and excited about being a part of ASSITEJ.
Así pues: éste es el mes de llevar a un niño al teatro, pero nuestro trabajo nunca se detiene. Lo hacemos porque nos impulsa a ello; en aviones, en oficinas, en teatros, en espacios encontrados. Redes, centros nacionales, compañías de teatro y artistas individuales. Creando, investigando, defendiendo, inspirando. Porque todos esperamos con ilusión los próximos 50 años.
March 20th is International Take a Child to Theatre Day, but this whole month we are reminded how important it is to take a child to the theatre. And it should not be one month, of course; we need to remember this every day, all year long. We want to grab the moments and opportunities to expose children to theatre and theatrical activities, to give them theatrical experiences. Because that is what we love to do and why we work for and with children and youth.
The message from Malala Yousafzai and Guila Clara Kessous speaks for itself. We are lucky that we have these women join ASSITEJ to bring the message about the power of our art. What can I add to that?
Mientras escribo esto, estoy sentada en un avión de Bolonia a París, la primera etapa de un largo día de vuelo a través de 7 husos horarios. Tuvimos una reunión en Bolonia, la primera de este tipo, entre las cinco redes de ASSITEJ. Roberto Frabetti tuvo la brillante idea de reunir a representantes de las cinco primeras redes de ASSITEJ-Small Size, Write Local Play Global (WLPG), la International Teatro para Jóvenes Research Network (ITYARN), the International Inclusive Arts Network (IIAN), and the Next Generation Network together for an open discussion on what the networks’ place in ASSITEJ is, how we can support each other, if and how we can work together, and how we see our future. We had representatives from both Berlin-where we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of ASSITEJ during the artistic gathering at the Augenblick Mal! festival in April 2015, and Birmingham-where we will have the next artistic gathering at the On the Edge festival in July 2016, which was very useful for the short and long term planning. We looked at themes and the history of the networks and we learned a lot from each other and about each other.
We had a realization. The ASSITEJ networks are a 21st century phenomenon. There were no ASSITEJ networks before the 21st century, and for part of the first decade three of the networks developed more or less independently of ASSITEJ, although the network members were also connected with ASSITEJ through their national centers. And in the course of the 3-hour discussion we discovered a sense of purpose. A mission to energize, to offer new perspectives, to integrate generationally, interdisciplinary, and interculturally-exactly the themes of the next three ASSITEJ Artistic Gatherings and culminating World Congress and Festival in South Africa in 2017. We discovered that each of the networks had a purpose to work with and within the other networks: all networks can use research (ITYARN); all networks have or invite Next Generation members; all networks aim to be inclusive (IIAN); all networks embrace plays, playwriting, (cultural) translation and devising (WLPG); all work on or with Theatre for the Very Young (Small Size). And all are ready to get to work and excited about being a part of ASSITEJ.
Así pues: éste es el mes de llevar a un niño al teatro, pero nuestro trabajo nunca se detiene. Lo hacemos porque nos impulsa a ello; en aviones, en oficinas, en teatros, en espacios encontrados. Redes, centros nacionales, compañías de teatro y artistas individuales. Creando, investigando, defendiendo, inspirando. Porque todos esperamos con ilusión los próximos 50 años.
