ASSITEJ

ASSITEJ is the acronym for International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People

(The acronym is based on the French version of the name (Association International du Theatre pour l´Enfance et la Jeunesse).

The international association

ASSITEJ was established on 10 May 1965 by a global alliance of organisations and individuals involved in the promotion of theatre for children and young people. The ASSITEJ International archives are located in Frankfurt, Germany, the Secretariat is now in Copenhagen, Denmark, and ASSITEJ is present in more than 100 countries.

ASSITEJ is dedicated to artistic, cultural political and educational efforts and no decision, action or statement of the Association shall be based on nationality, political conviction, cultural identity, ethnicity, or religion. It promotes international exchange of knowledge and practice in theatre in order to increase creative co-operation and to deepen mutual understanding between all persons involved in the performing arts for young audiences.

ASSITEJ South Africa

(Also written ASSITEJ SA)

The local branch works to promote international awareness of South African theatre for children and young people, through networking, organising exchanges, touring performances, and by facilitating contacts. Members are given access to a global network of information about festivals, performances, courses and seminars all over the world, with the potential to participate in these activities.

Members include: actors, musicians, dancers, directors, choreographers, theatre educators, stage designers and dramatists, as well as theatre companies, organisations and institutions, critics and cultural journalists, cultural officers, amateur drama groups, organizers, societies and other networks.

ASSITEJ South Africa History

ASSITEJ South Africa was launched as a national association on 2 July 2007 at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. The Constitution for the association was approved by the General Assembly of ASSITEJ in Malmø, Sweden, May 24, 2011.

Since then, ASSITEJ South Africa has grown tremendously, playing host to the 19th ASSITEJ World Congress and International Theatre Festival for Children and Young People, held in Cape Town, South Africa in May 2017 – the first and only time this major ASSITEJ event has been held in Africa.

ASSITEJ South Africa is run by a large team under the leadership of Executive Director, Yvette Hardie.

ASSITEJ South Africa projects

The South African branch has a number of projects, including:

Cradle of Creativity

Cradle of Creativity is a biennial festival which originated when ASSITEJ SA hosted the 19th World Congress of ASSITEJ in 2017, the first time that this prestigious event came to the African continent. Since then we have held Cradle of Creativity in Cape Town (2019), online (2021) and most recently in Johannesburg from 20-27 August 2023, at the Market Theatre, Windybrow Arts Centre, Sibikwa Arts Centre and National Children's Theatre. The 2023 programme included 27 productions (18 local and 9 international), reaching more than 8700 audience members, and 200 delegates from 32 countries around the world.

Take a Child to the Theatre

Every year ASSITEJ celebrates the World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People on 20 March, and uses this day to spread its ongoing campaign of “Take a child to the theatre today”, stressing a child’s right to experience the arts.

Theatre4Youth/Arts4Youth

This programme creates a national framework for connecting children and young people with the theatre and arts experiences best suited to them. It is currently funded through the Social Employment Fund, which means that ASSITEJ SA employs 1850 artists to work in 150 organisations in all 9 provinces to reach over 52 000 children and young people a month!

For more information, see Theatre4Youth.

Kickstarter Empowerment

ASSITEJ SA is the official partner to the national Department of Basic Education in the delivery of Creative Arts nationally. Kickstarter Educational Empowerment is a highly acclaimed and awarded arts-education programme supporting teachers to be able to deliver quality Creative Arts in schools.

For more information, see Kickstarter Empowerment.

The ASSITEJ Newsletter

Sent to all ASSITEJ members it contains information on all aspects of theatre for young people, nationally and internationally.

Sources

http://www.assitej.org.za/wmenu.php

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