ASSITEJ maps out future themes

ASSITEJ, the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People, looks ahead for the next three years with a thematic linked programme of international events 'Let's Walk Together Towards the Unknown'.

What has happened in your part of the world over the last 30 years? What has happened in the theatre industry in your country over the same amount of time? In your own artistic work life?

One thing is certain – the world has changed. Its only 26 years ago that The World Wide Web became a global interconnected computer network available to the public. This has changed the world for ever. In a world where we spend more and more time on social media and in front of screens, theatre is needed. It is the art form where real people meet other real people and through stories explore new perspectives, ideas, thoughts and dreams. So – what will the next 30 years bring? How do we bring our dreams to life?

In the middle of the bustling, warm, innovative and exciting SEGNI New Generation Festival 2017 in Mantova earlier this month, the ASSITEJ Executive Committee explored our unknown future working on the Dramaturgy of ASSITEJ Gatherings and World Congress from 2017 till 2020. The Dramaturgy will be the red thread for the next three years, but the Dramaturgy is also meant as an inspiration to all of us working in the field of TYA outside of the Gatherings and Congress.

We start off our journey together by dreaming in Beijing in August 2018. At the Artistic Gathering, we will start Imagining the Future and brainstorm about our dreams for the future, our targets and our wishes.

In Kristiansand, Norway in September 2019 we will be Confronting the Present and survey the landscape of TYA, considering what we have achieved and what challenges and obstacles we are facing.

And at the World Congress in Tokyo, Japan May 2020 we will be Beginning the Journey by defining and exploring the first steps, concrete plans for the unknown future.

Mahatma Ghandi once said "The future depends on what you do today." So let us not wait until we meet in China or Norway or Japan, but let us start to imagine the future, discuss the present and walk into the unknown together today.