By: Kenia Rodríguez Núñez
Childhood is not only a biological stage; it is a symbolic territory in constant construction, where imagination, empathy, and understanding of the world are woven with the threads of lived experiences. In this formative process, theatre emerges as a ritual space where the playful and the pedagogical merge. The celebration of the 21st ASSITEJ World Congress allowed us to glimpse with singular clarity the concrete contribution of this art form to the integral development of children in the Cuban context, while at the same time illuminating the trajectory and potential of a national stage tradition dedicated to the youngest.
Children’s theatre in Cuba has a history marked by founding figures, a profound pedagogical vocation, and the constant challenge to innovate within a unique cultural context. This theatre is the fruit of a history marked by the conception of art as a transformative good. From the pioneering efforts of figures such as the Camejo brothers and the Guiñol Nacional, through the institutionalisation and flourishing of groups after the triumph of the Revolution, to the current dynamism of projects and groups, a work that understands children and adolescents as critical and sensitive spectators has been consolidated. However, the ASSITEJ World Congress operated as an unprecedented catalyst, injecting new dimensions into this practice and making tangible its mechanism of impact on child development.
After 31 years since the 11th Congress in 1993, Cuba returned to the centre of the global conversation on theatre for children. Hosting an event of this scale revalidated the island’s place as a vital and resilient cultural node.
The celebration of the 21st ASSITEJ World Congress and Performing Arts Festival for Children and Young People, under the theme ‘Voices of a New World’, was not only a first-class international event, but became a historic catalyst for this artistic manifestation on the island.
The contributions of the Congress and Festival can be understood as a multi-linear intervention that enriched both the theatrical ecosystem and the direct experience of the children. Firstly, it functioned as a vast platform for updating and dialogue for Cuban creators. The exposure to 25 shows from 15 countries, selected under criteria of aesthetic diversity and inclusion, expanded the horizon of references. It was not just a matter of seeing foreign works, but of observing how other cultures approach universal and specific themes, how they dialogue with their own context and how they innovate in theatrical languages. This exchange is an important platform for creation that generated ideas for the circulation of works, twinning and projects for improvement. For Cuban artists, this meant a creative immunisation, an opportunity to measure their work in a global context and to incorporate, from their own authenticity, new tools and perspectives.
At the same time, the event designed a direct and profound experience for Cuban children’s audiences, which is where their contribution to development is most concretely realised. The more than eighty performances, including presentations in theatres, primary schools, children’s circles and communities in transformation, articulated a principle of democratic access to high quality cultural goods. The attendance of children, adolescents and young people, including those in early childhood and with special educational needs, validated the right to art enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Likewise, for Cuban children and adolescents, seeing their reality and cultural references represented on a stage of international prestige, as several testimonies pointed out, strengthens collective self-esteem and the sense of belonging to a culture with its own voice in the world, a fundamental aspect of the development of a healthy and proud identity.
The professional exchange programme of the Congress, with its 72 proposals for workshops, conferences, panel discussions, exhibitions, and regional meetings, acted as the bridge that articulated the artistic experience with systematic pedagogical reflection. Themes such as inclusion, gender perspective, sustainability, and early childhood methodologies were discussed not at in the abstract, but on the basis of the practices presented. This allowed Cuban artists, teachers, and managers to appropriate conceptual frameworks and methodological tools to design, in a more conscious and intentional way, stage experiences that specifically enhance these areas of development.
The legacy of the Congress in Cuba did not end in 2024. It has planted seeds that are already beginning to germinate in the Cuban theatrical ecosystem, as demonstrated by the subsequent creation of the “Príncipe Enano” festival for early childhood, which this year will hold its second edition, or the International Performing Arts Meeting for adolescents, held in November 2025, and which included creators from 8 countries in Latin America and Europe. These fruits are the most tangible proof of a sustainable contribution.
The 21st ASSITEJ World Congress in Havana represented a turning point for children’s theatre in Cuba. It not only celebrated what has been achieved, but injected energy, fresh ideas, and global connections into a vital sector of national culture. By empowering creators and directly touching the lives of thousands of children, the Congress not only raised awareness of Cuban theatre for children but also empowered it in multiple ways, creating an ecosystem of collaborative relationships with which our centre has developed multiple activities for young audiences.
It reaffirmed the role of theatre as an educational and social transformation tool, a principle always defended in the Cuban tradition, but it did so in dialogue with the most innovative currents in the world.
The event confirmed that, despite all the challenges, Cuba remains a fertile and necessary territory for art dedicated to children. The challenge now, for the community of creators, educators, and managers, is to cultivate the seeds planted in May 2024, ensuring that these “Voices of a New World” continue to resonate, grow, and transform, from Cuba, the theatre landscape for the children and young people of tomorrow.
