International World Day
of Theatre for Children and Young People
March 20th, 2008

1. Introduction
2. Toward Globalization for the Theatre for Children and Young People
by Kim Woo Ok
3. Do it well, but do it differently!
by Prof. Wolfgang Schneider


Introduction

On March 20th, every year since 2001, the World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People has been celebrated all over the world by the international community of theatre practitioners for children and young people.

The main purpose of the World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People is to attract attention of a wider public to the art of theatre for children and young people.

Events during the World Day may be special performances, open rehearsals, lectures, exhibitions, articles in newspapers and magazines etc, etc. Events are primarely organized by national ASSITEJ centres or by theatre companies or theatre organizations.
National centres have full freedom to organize the national events, but make sure to include general information on children and young people´s theatre, its history and importance to society and, of course, on ASSITEJ as an international organization.

It is important to inform the press and general media, as well as authorities and governmental bodies about your events.

The following package contains the World Day Message ‘Toward Globalization for the Theatre for Children and Young People’ written by Kim Woo Ok as well as the letter ‘Do it well, but do it differently!’ by the president of ASSITEJ International Wolfgang Schneider.

Please, send information and photos of your planned activities in order to post it on the ASSITEJ International web-site.
Thanks to ASSITEJ Bangladesh who sent us this picture of their World Day Event 2006.


Message for the ASSITEJ World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People March 20th 2008


Toward Globalization for the Theatre for Children and Young People

The Webster’s English Dictionary defines globalization as, among others, “greater international cultural exchange”. What I intend to stress by quoting the term globalization here is that we should have more active exchange of the theatre for children and young people among nations and regions of the world to lift the theatre movement out of its current state of affairs.
An exchange is premised on the assumption that partners involved have something of more or less equal value to offer. Regrettably, the development of the theatre for children and young people is deplorably uneven from country to country, region to region. Theatre activities are largely concentrated in one or two areas, precluding any plausible attempt to launch a serious program of global exchange.
The situation does not bode well at all for the future of the theatre for children and young people. We must find a way to remedy this imbalance. Only then we will be able to launch a truly global exchange program in the theatre for children and young people.
I hope that the currently less active countries lead the way in this effort. They have a rich field as yet little explored. They could create their own idiosyncratic theatres that would enrich the diversity of the world theatre.
The countries currently more active will equally benefit from the advent of such a rich, diverse theatre. They ought to support the effort in more consistent and systematic ways.
When we reach the goals of global theatre, the greatest beneficiary will be the children and young people of the world. They will be better prepared to deal with the complexity of the world of 21st century thanks to their exposure to the diversity of world cultures. This is globalization in the truest sense of the word for the theatre for children and young people.
Imagine a day when troupes from all corners of the world tour the world, delighting and amazing children and young people everywhere they go with their rich, diverse creations. A distant dream, perhaps, but hardly just a dream.
ASSITEJ celebrates the 43rd anniversary today. I extend my hearty congratulation on its long list of contributions and on its still longer list of achievements to come.
Kim Woo Ok, Performance Director

Kim Woo OK was President of ASSITEJ Korea and founding artistic director of Seoul Performing Arts Festival for Young Audiences. He was Dean, School of Drama, the Korean National University of Arts. He served as an E.C. Member of ASSITEJ International for 14 years from 1991 to 2005 and he is also an awardee of the ASSITEJ International Honorary President´s Award.

The President’s Letter for the World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People


Do it well, but do it differently!

That sounds interesting, I wonder… According to Theatre for Children and Young People, it's possible to tackle things in a different way.

And now, I ask myself, what could possibly be different? Theatre for young spectators is per se different. It defines itself by its target group, an audience that demands to be taken account of in the artistic process, in the production, distribution and reception.

The themes it tackles don't have to be different from the usual ones seen in theatre for adults. You also don't need to create new theatre forms. And in no way should you be childish or infantile: or even try to do justice to what you think children might like. In other words, you shouldn't regard challenges as being different simply because you're playing to a special audience. So tackling things differently must be meant in another way. Perhaps in the sense of the dictionary I always love to consult when I want to express myself precisely, when individual words are meant to say something, when I need an interpretation about what others might have meant or not. The first thing I read is the following definition: "abandoning an earlier individual characteristic and becoming fundamentally different." But that couldn't have been what was meant by changing things, could it? Doing something in another way than was previously planned or introduced, shaping it in another way, is a further variation of the discourse. Such an action would be remarkable, particularly in our case where planning plays a very important role, and is even postulated as being programmatic.

Perhaps it has more to do with the variety of meanings inherent in the concept. We should think in a different way! Not produce theatre from a literary basis, not make theatre dependent on the school curriculum, not reduce theatre to plays with a cast of one!

Or maybe we should present our shows in another form of language? Theatre shot through with breathtaking choreography, theatre as a complex system of codes, or even inspirational theatre from abroad! Or should we make “being different” the basis for our work? Theatre based on article 1 of the Declaration of Human Rights: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights" – does this hold true for all people in the first, second and third world?! Theatre about intercultural dialogues, about national core cultures, about the things we have in common, about differences and how we master these challenges in our everyday life – or not?! Theatre that understands itself as society in dialogue with itself, and therefore talks about finding identities in a period of globalisation. How much different do we have to be? When we are confronted by people who think and believe in different ways, when we meet other people with different characteristics, who are the reverse of what we are, or have completely different opinions.

Cultural diversity is the theme being discussed at the moment by UNESCO. The Convention on the "Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions" came into power almost exactly one year ago, on the 18th of March 2007: it must however be lived out, it has to get to people and, for this reason be reflected in the theatre.

Children and young people know exactly what "tackling things in a different way" means. They have set out on their path through life and this will certainly not be straight ahead non-stop. They'll be forced to find their way out of dead ends, clear hurdles and make detours. Time and time again they will have to think and try out alternatives. Doing things another way could become a principle in life. The theatre can show that, the theatre can en-courage its audiences to be open to that, everything can be done differently in the theatre. In this sense, on the occasion of World Children's Theatre Day 2008, I should like to leave you all – artists, children and not least cultural politicians – with the following wish. Do it well, but do it differently!

Professor Dr. Wolfgang Schneider

President of the International Association of Theatre for Children And Young People