INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CHILDREN'S AND YOUTH'S RIGHT TO CULTURE AT THE FACULTY OF DRAMATIC ARTS IN BELGRADE

In accordance with the Memorandum of Cooperation signed with the National Association of Theatres for Children and Youth ASSITEJ Serbia in 2021, the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade is one of the partners in the preparation of a significant global event in the field of theater for children and youth, which will take place in Serbia in November 2023, in Belgrade and Novi Sad.

The Annual Global Gathering of the International Network of Theatres for Children and Youth ASSITEJ - ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering will be organized for the first time ever in Serbia under the title TURNING POINT by the National Association of Theatres for Children and Youth ASSITEJ Serbia from November 20th to 24th 2023. This year marks the 20th anniversary of ASSITEJ Serbia.

The aim of this event is to present the highest-quality practices and the latest achievements in the field of performing arts for children and youth, with a focus on supporting young professionals in theater for children and youth, international cooperation and exchange, artistic and cultural production for teenagers, the introduction of new technologies, sustainability and green transformation, as well as diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in performing arts for young audiences.

At the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, an international conference titled "Children's and Youth's Right to Culture: 10 Years On" will be held. This event at the FDA is planned for November 20, 2023, on World Children's Day. 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the last General Comment by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the right of children to play, art, and culture. For this occasion, one hundred participants, experts, researchers, artists, and practitioners in the field of performing arts and culture for children and youth from around the world will gather at the FDA to exchange knowledge, information, and experiences and to present examples of some of the best practices in this domain, in order to improve the situation of children and youth's rights to culture and arts, both in Serbia, and globally.

Dr. Irena Ristić, full professor at the Department of Theory and History of the FDA, will deliver a keynote lecture titled "When Shadow Becomes Collective, Will There Be a Place for Mine?"

An important part of the TURNING POINT gathering is the international conference on "Scene Design and New Technologies in Theatre for Young Audiences", which will take place on November 23rd in Novi Sad, in collaboration with the Department of Scene Design at the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad. The Laboratory of Interactive Arts of the FDA will play an active and important role in the program.

Although the former Yugoslavia was among the founders of the International Network of Theatres for Children and Youth ASSITEJ in 1965, the Annual Global Gathering - ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering will be held for the first time not only in Serbiay, but also in this part of Europe. Last year, the host country was Sweden, while the next two years' hosts will be Cuba and France.

TURNING POINT preparation in Serbia is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Youth, the City of Belgrade, the City of Novi Sad, the French Institute in Serbia, the Swedish Institute, the Congress Bureau of the Serbian Tourist Organization, the National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO, the “Kulturanova” Foundation, and many other cultural and artistic institutions. 

Some programs of the the gathering are parts of larger projects "Art of Listening in Theatre for Children and Youth BABEL", and "Theatre & Performing Arts for Young Audiences: Building Collective Resilience” and “ForesTEEN: Building a Resilient European TEEN Cultural Ecosystem”, financed by the European Union through the "Creative Europe" program.