What is going on in Iran? Minoovash Rahimian, member of the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ
As an Iranian woman, I have always been attacked by men (patriarchy) with the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran. From the moment I opened my eyes to this world, I remember my father hitting my mother, my uncle hitting his daughter, and my neighbor hitting his mother.
As Iranian women, we face fear every day of our lives. We sacrifice ourselves, and we shut down our dreams because of patriarchy. Men are the first gender, and we are the second gender. From childhood, the government treats us in such a way that we remain silent and are convinced we are the second gender under the oppression of men; I mean, they wish we were convinced. But we are human, and instinct will always tell us that something is wrong.
Forty years ago, before the Islamic revolution in Iran, the country was led by a monarchy (the king) and Iran used to be one of the modernist countries in the world. Women could dress as they wanted just like in free countries today. But after the Islamic revolution, headscarves and covering the body became law in the whole country. At first it was not bad, but gradually women went under the shade and all the freedom was given to men.
As Iranian women in our country, we are not allowed to swim in the sea, we are not allowed to sing, dance, and sometimes even clap outside the house. We are not allowed to ride bicycles or motorcycles. We are not allowed to go to the stadium and watch games, we are not allowed to have children out of marriage, we are not allowed to leave the country without our husband's permission, our dowry is half of a man’s, and the inheritance we receive is half of a man’s. There are many sports that we cannot do.
I am an artist, as an artist (actor) it is more difficult to be a woman in Iran. We are not allowed to sing and dance on stage, we have to wear hijab on stage, even if our co-star is male, we cannot touch. We can't wear tight clothes, a male makeup artist is not allowed to put makeup on our faces, and we can't wear wigs. We should not move our body too much.
As an artist in theatre for young audiences it's even harder. We are not allowed to work on whatever we want. Everything in Iran is controlled by the government, so in order to create a performance, they have to approve every step of the process, which is a nightmare. We can't mention religious things (only if it's promoting Islam) on stage, we can't mention sex, erotic things, western music, western culture, bad words, better to say we're not allowed to show REALITY!
Our children in Iran experience a double life. Most families in Iran are not religious, do not believe in hijab, go to house parties, dance, drink alcohol and live a normal life under the skin of the country. But it is different in the community outside their home. Our children are faced with these contradictions every day, which is harmful for everyone. They immediately learn how to lie, how to pretend to be something else. They never get the chance to speak their truth.
We (Iranian people) are from the country of poetry, art, and great history. The Iranian government has been trying to take it from us for the past forty years, but it could not. Our women did not tolerate oppression, they studied and educated themselves, they worked alongside men. To the extent that these days they risk their lives in the streets of Iran to fight for their rights, together with young people.
We are Iranian women; we fight with our bare hands against their weapons. We will take back our beautiful land to make a free life for our next generations.
ASSITEJ International: in support of women and young people protesting the actions in Iran
We, the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ, the International Association of Theatre and Performance for Children and Young People, protest the actions of all governments when they act against the rights of humanity.
We stand in support of vulnerable people being victimised and attacked anywhere; women and young people who are fighting for their right to choice and self-expression, families struggling to survive war and famine, children denied education and cultural safety.
ASSITEJ believes that much more needs to be done to meet all countries’ obligations with respect to Articles 13 and 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This is especially true in light of the current geo-political and social upheavals and the aftermath of the COVID pandemic.
There is an urgent need for equity and equal opportunities for every young person to live in a sustainable and healthy world. Arts and culture allow us to imagine the world we wish to create for and with our children and young people, and are therefore crucial as we take action to ensure better conditions for our societies.
Fundraising campaign
Support ASSITEJ Ukraine & the children they serve
ASSITEJ International is collecting funds to support ASSITEJ Ukraine and their activities in Lviv, Odessa, and Kyiv.
ASSITEJ International has a mission to promote theatre for children and young people everywhere and to unify practitioners in this field.
Sadly, due to complex local and global circumstances both financial and geopolitical, the ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering in Serbia planned for May 2023 must be rescheduled.
The new dates of this important ASSITEJ event are 20 – 24 November 2023, starting on World Children’s Day.
Earlier this year, ASSITEJ International was awarded a major grant from the European Union for our three-year project Theatre & Performing Arts for Young Audiences: Building Collective Resilience.
With these new funds, ASSITEJ has been able to build a team of staff members who will help coordinate this project in close cooperation with the Executive Committee.
Louis Valente (Secretary General & Projects Director)
Chris Bloise-Brooke (Managing Director)
Roberto Frabetti (Finance Director)
Marissa Garay (Project Producer & Coordinator)
Opportunities
Call for productions on theme of “Fear”
Festival “Neues Europa / New Europe” 2023
The theater festival “New Europe” will take place in fall 2023 in Cologne, Germany.
In 2023 the festival’s theme is “Fear”. We are looking for theater projects and performances from the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Hungary.
Culture Moves Europe: mobility for artists and professionals
Creative Europe
Culture Moves Europe supports the mobility of emerging artists, creators and cultural professionals living and working in countries eligible for Creative Europe. This supports travel abroad for professional development or international collaborations, as well as co-producing, co-creating, and presenting work to new audiences.
DEADLINE EXTENDED for applications – Next Generation Residency 2023
ASSITEJ Pakistan
If you are an emerging artist, storyteller, or theatre-maker with an interest in TYA; this is the opportunity for you to learn, work and collaborate with artists.
Do you want to participate in TYA festival organizing or in performing arts workshops?
ASSITEJ International & BABEL
BABEL – or The Art of Listening in Theatre for young audiences (TYA) is seeking young emerging arts practitioners (under 36 years old) for festival residencies and/or participation in training workshops over the theme ‘The Art of Listening, the sensitive relationship between performer and child/adolescent spectator’ during several BABEL festivals in different countries in Europe over the period of 2023-2024.
🌎🌍🌏 8 different European Festivals 🗓 January 2023 - September 2024
The STELLA Festival is coming back to the Austrian capital!
ASSITEJ Austria
From Oct 1st - Oct 7th, 2022 Vienna will be the center for performing arts for young audiences, with a handpicked program from Austria and guests from all over the globe. Intended as an important impulse to draw attention to the diversity and quality of the Austrian theatre and dance scene for young audiences once a year, STELLA Festival is starting now it’s 16th edition!
This edition, ASSITEJ Austria, in close collaboration with YOUNG DANCE NETWORK, puts a focus on dance for young audience.
International theater festival NAKS: November 2-5 in Paide, Estonia
ASSITEJ Estonia
ASSITEJ Estonia is delighted to invite ASSITEJ members and TYA professionals to the annual international theater festival NAKS for young audiences the2-5th of November in Paide, Estonia. For 4 days the festival will present the newest theater performances for children and young people in Estonia and guest shows from Finland, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine.
NAKS Festival is providing a festival pass, local transport and accommodation in Paide to international guests.
26th Bursa International Children and Youth Theatre Festival
ASSITEJ Turkey
ASSITEJ Turkey is proud to announce the 26th edition of Bursa International Children and Youth Theatre Festival on November 12-17. Six performances from Turkey and three from various countries will be presented free of charge alongside workshops, seminars and artistic gatherings for TYA practitioners.
Save the date! AUGENBLICK MAL! 2023: April 21-26th in Berlin
AUGENBLICK MAL! is the only nationwide festival of theatre for young audiences in Germany. As a platform for outstanding productions and different positions in the performing arts for young audiences, the festival has been promoting the development of theatre for children and young people for over 30 years.
This year, ASSITEJ Israel held the Theater Award competition for Children and Youth for the 17th time.
The ASSITEJ Israel Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to chairman Razi Amitai for his many years of activity in promoting theater to young people in Israel and around the world. The Theater Award for Children and Youth is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sports in Israel.
The ATINA Awards do not choose the best artist in each category, but instead highlight those shows and categories that have made outstanding and innovative proposals within the scenic activity.
Since 2020 ATINA has incorporated the Virtual ATINA award to the proposals made for this medium.
The Board of ATINA also awards three prizes: Career, Research and Dissemination.
This year, we add the celebration of the XX years of ATINA, created in the year 2002, which since then has had an activity as intense as it is continuous.
PYA England announce new project exploring national/international showcasing
PYA England
PYA England, the country specific branch of ASSITEJ UK, is thrilled to announce it has secured Investment Funds from Arts Council England, North to explore the viability of a national/international showcase or festival of work for young audiences in the North of England.
This investment builds on a recent sector needs analysis, consultation with the PYA England membership and existing/prior English festival producers and demonstrates a commitment from ASSITEJ UK to further its internationalism, advocacy and professional development of the sector.
MONDIACULT 2022: States adopt historic Declaration for Culture
UNESCO
The UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2022, convened by UNESCO, and hosted by the Government of Mexico, took place from 28 to 30 September 2022 in Mexico City.
Attendees from 150 countries agreed to sign a Declaration for Culture in five languages.
Finally, after such a struggle to make the Festival happen, we would love to announce that Papermoon Puppet Theatre will present PESTA BONEKA #8 from 3-9 October 2022.
There will be 38 artists from 18 countries joining our festival this year with online, hybrid and offline programs.
Memories from Bibu / ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2022
Everybody is a soldier in his or her own way
by Melissa Hekkers
Olena’s face became familiar to me very early on in the festival. Our paths seemed to cross often - we attended seminars together, watched the same performances, and I even sat behind her in a workshop, but we never really spoke to each other until she won my heart when she was asked to a say couple of words about her presence in this year’s gathering. As a member of ASSITEJ Ukraine, she consciously made the decision to stay behind and continue working in her home country which is being torn apart by war. She refers to her decision as a responsibility towards the youth she was working with before the war broke out.
