Latest News!

Welcome to our October 2008 e-bulletin and thank you for visiting this IDEA site.

 

 

Colombia's Nuestra Gente in the 1st Community Conference of Youth Theatre, a taste of IDEA 2010 to come (www.semeandoasas.pombasurbanas.org.br)

Now, here is IDEA’s latest news.

IDEA 2010 World Congress dates and bargain registration fees! The national executive of ABRA – the Brazilian Network of Arteducators – met during September to confirm July 3-11 as the exact dates of the IDEA 2010 World Congress. Solidarity Project proposals can now be submitted to solidarity@idea2010.art.br and early registrations with 30% reductions can be made via the world congress website (www.idea2010.art.br) by international credit card from November 1st, or by bank or postal order. All interested should contact Julio Rafael, Director of Solidarity solidarity@idea2010.art.br.

IDEA 2010 organizers continue to consult Brazil ABRA has completed three more abraços in Marabá and Belém (Pará) and during the 1st Meeting of Youth Community Theatre in the city of Tiradentes (São Paulo) as part of its 2008 consultation of theatre education practitioners, teachers and scholars about what they want to propose for the coming congress. Representatives from long-established projects in São Paulo, Colombia, Argentina and Cuba also joined the emerging Latin American and Caribbean regional committee for IDEA 2010. Further information is available from: manosouza@hotmail.com.

Young IDEA 2010 in progress Cris Gonzales, Director of Young IDEA, meets Angele Seguin of Quebec, coordinator of the Young IDEA world congress project, Great Harvest of Hope, in London, at the World Forum of Social Leadership (November 17/18). They will be joined by Young Creative Voices (2006-2007) workshop facilitators Peter and Vicensia Shule and IDEA members from England, Croatia, Iceland and Brazil to exchange and develop workshop methodologies with community leaders, politicians and leaders of industry. Further details are available from Angele Seguin: aseguin@petiteslanternes.org.

IDEA Africa emerging… Between 21-24 September, the University of Kwazulu Natal in South Africa hosted 80-90 scholars and practitioners from South Africa, with Wits University Drama For Life bringing participants from Zambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi to discuss ‘Performing Identities’. Keynotes from Dan Baron Cohen, President of IDEA, and Gay Morris of the International Federation of Theatre Research connected with searching papers on the intersections between race, gender, class and nationality, at the very moment of the remarkable resignation of President Thabo Mbeki and many in his cabinet. The conference closed with proposals by the Drama Departments of South African Universities and South African Theatre Institute to meet in November to discuss national and regional networks, with links to the existing East Africa Theatre Institute. Further information is available from Veronica Baxter: BaxterV@ukzn.ac.za.

IDEA Europe: theatre for young audiences! The season of festivals has started in Croatia, Denmark, Samara, and Russia, with the coming international theatre festival Belgrade to dedicate part of its program to theatre for children in South Eastern Europe, ASSITEJ International’s Festival in Bucharest, Romania in early October, and the 2nd International Festival of Theaters for Children and Young People in Central and Southeastern Europe, in Cakovec, Croatia, October 13-19. More about all these festivals can be found on www.theatre-epicentre.org.

Latin America and Caribbean Theatre Network On September 20th, Raúl Guillermo Rodoni, President of the South American Regional Alliance of Theatre (SARA) and Secretary of the Hispanic International Association of Theatre Arts (AITA/IATA) signed a Letter of Intention with Dan Baron Cohen, President of IDEA, affirming the two institutions’ support for a regional theatre network of networks and commitment to work together to build the IDEA 2010 world congress.

Congratulations Croatia! Ivica Simic, founder of Croatia’s Theatre Epicentre was elected Secretary General of ASSITEJ International at its General Assembly in Adelaide, Australia in May 2008. With the Secretariat General in Zagreb, all projects and initiatives in theatre for children will be developed in the light of this new opportunity.

Russian conference: Transformations: risk, crisis and adaptation Samara International Society for Cultural Studies will co-organize a 4th International Conference entitled ‘Social Innovations in Cultural Process –Transformations: risk, crisis and adaptation’. Papers accepted by the Scientific Committee will be published in the conference proceedings during 2008, and may be presented in English, Russian, French or German (2500-3000 words). Abstracts (150-200 words) should be sent to Dr.Vladimir Ionesov by 30th October ionesov@mail.ru.

Partnership between IDEA Associations and local universities Drama New Zealand and the Norwegian Drama Association are organizing meetings to learn how New Zealand has integrated arts into the curriculum to ensure that every child ex
periences drama in school. The Norwegian Association will try to raise funds for pilot projects in schools who wish to try out the New Zealand model. Is this initiative relevant to your context?. Those interested should contact Aud Sebo: aud.b.sebo@uis.no.

Call for 2009 e-Journal articles The open access 2008 New Zealand Journal of Research in Performing Arts and Education (Nga Mahi a Rehia) is now online. Many members of IDEA have contributed directly to this journal through their contributions and as peer reviewers and members of our editorial board. Co-editors, Susan Battye (Drama New Zealand) and Janinka Greenwood (University of Canterbury) welcome online replies to the articles and debates and will soon announce a date for abstracts for the 2009 e-journal. All interested should visit: www.drama.org.nz/ejournal.asp.

2009 IDEA General Council Meeting IDEA’s Executive Committee has decided to hold the next General Council meeting in Rostock, Germany, from 5-10th May 2009. The meeting will be co-hosted by the Academy of Music and Theater in Rostock to coincide with its conference “Play Space, Safe Space”. Any IDEA member or colleague who needs an official invitation to help seek funding to participate should contact Vlado Krusic, President of the General Meeting Committee: vladimir.krusic@zg.htnet.hr.

World Drama/Theatre & Education Day 2008 What are your plans concerning the IDEA day? Would you like to join in? All interested should contact Tintti Karppinen: tintti.karppinen@welho.com.

Need IDEA’s logo for your project development?_ Members’ projects and case-studies can now receive recognition as IDEA Projects and Case-Studies, according to clearly-defined criteria which have now been posted on the IDEA website (www.idea-org.net). And you are also building up IDEA’s CV to increase its advocacy authority and fundraising power. Anyone interested should contact: carosteveclark@hotmail.com.

Material for the e-bulletin can be submitted by IDEA members at any time. The closing date is the 21st of each month. Please send newsflashes and photos to: Cathy Kariuki, IDEA Secretary: kathy_wanji@yahoo.com

Join IDEA!

As you read, IDEA members from more than 90 countries are working in hundreds of thousands of different cultural communities, shaping drama/theatre education today.

This rich diversity of practices is unified by three broad aims: 
(a) to demonstrate and advocate drama/theatre education as part of a full human education, particularly through international project collaborations;
(b) to promote international dialogue and research around the practice and theory of drama/theatre and education; and
(c) to support the practice of drama/theatre and education to achieve human rights and peace throughout the world, particularly for young people, children and excluded communities threatened by violence.

 

 

Bei-San senior-citizen farmers create community theatre, Taiwan

If you want to become a member, receive special discounts on our IDEA books and congresses, have free access to our Consultancy, and learn about international workshops, residencies, training programmes and collaborations, before they happen, please click on Membership, or write to Katrina, our Administrator, idea@dramaaustralia.org.au.