INSPIRING A GENERATION PROJECT: Assitej South Africa and Theatre Arts Admin Collective launched a pilot project in 2010 to develop theatre practitioners interested in making high quality children's theatre in South Africa. The purpose was to build a new generation of theatre makers working in the area of theatre for children and young people, and through their work to build a generation of children and young people who love and are inspired by theatre performance. 

There is very little theatre for children in Cape Town, and virtually none specifically designed for both the under 3s and teenagers. Very few Cape Town theatre makers have seen international children's theatre, as virtually none comes to SA (with the exception of occasional work coming to Out the Box), and those South African theatre makers that travel internationally tend to participate in theatre festivals in which children's theatre does not feature heavily. There is a general lack of awareness of the incredible innovation that occurs in this field, the cutting-edge nature of the work, and the excitement it generates in very specifically targeted audiences from as young as 6 months old. There is also lack of awareness of the theatre festival circuits that exist on the continental stage, or of how to access them. 

The programme was of one year's duration and engaged 5 theatre makers, each coming from a separate theatre company, which has an interest in making theatre for children and young people. The programme included exposure to world class children\'s theatre through attending international children\'s festivals; participating in locally based opportunities; engaging in regular monthly conversations and forums to engage, debate and reflect on ideas, experiences and issues; creating short performances for children with members of their own companies; working with an international or local children's theatre company in a learnership capacity for a period of 1-2 months; interacting with the New Generations programme within Assitej International.

PARTICIPATION IN KENNEDY CENTRE NEW VISIONS/ NEW VOICE 2010:

OMPHILE MOLUSI (in association with the Market Theatre) had his play for children, Promised Land of Balalatladi, accepted by the New Visions / New Voices 2010 Programme at the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. He and director, Monageng \'Vice\' Motshabi, travelled to the USA in May 2010 to participate in this exciting festival.

Click here for the press release. 

ACYTA MEETING (SEPTEMBER 2009)

Assitej South Africa hosted an ACYTA (African Children and Youth Theatre Arena) meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 17 -19 September 2009. The meeting was made possible due to the kind support of the French Institute and SANCTA. There were 15 delegates present, representing 10 countries, including Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zambia, Rwanda, Swaziland, Benin, Zimbabwe, Mali and South Africa. Niclas Malmcrona attended the meeting as a representative of the 2011 Assitej World Congress, and various guests, including Jennifer Kulik, (USA) and Khadija Lachguer El Bennaoui (Morocco) attended single sessions. Meetings with the French Institute, the Goethe Institut and Art Moves Africa (a mobility fund for African artists) all proved excellent opportunities for networking and the exploration of possibilities. 

Yvette Hardie (South Africa) was elected to Chair of ACYTA, Hope Azeda (Rwanda) to Deputy Chair, Sandile Ndzimande (Swaziland) to Treasurer, Robert Chirima (Zimbabwe) to Communications Officer, and Sam Kyagambiddwa (Rwanda) to Secretary. Three further portfolios were created which include Artistic Exchanges - Etoundi Zeyang (Cameroon), Capacity Building - Janet Watts (South Africa), and Fundraising - Mohamed Kareem (Egypt). Read a report by the Communications Officer, Robert Chirima, here or the complete Minutes of the meeting here. 

The ACYTA meeting was followed by the meeting of the Arterial Network (20-22 September) and the IFACAA World Summit on Arts and Culture (22-25 September). The presence of the Assitej delegates in these other meetings, increased awareness of Assitej in Africa and was extremely beneficial to all, creating excellent networking opportunities. We are looking forward to a rapid period of growth in the next six months coming out of these interactions. Read more about the Arterial Network meeting by clicking on ACYTA Secretary, Sam Kyagambidwa\'s report here, or the comprehensive Arterial Network report here. More information can be found on the Arterial Network website. Seewww.artsummit.org/blog/ 

For information on the World Summit on Arts and Culture, read Programme Director, Mike van Graan\'s blogs. See:www.artsummit.org/blog/