World Theatre Day 2021 - Call for Sharing World Theatre Day Celebrations & Special Events
Additionally, members and friends of ITI are encouraged to organize celebration events for the World Theatre Day in various forms - online or at a venue inside or outside. The General Secretariat would love to promote and stream the event on the social media channels of ITI. Please share with the detailed information about your events by sending the General Secretariat the data.
We hope that through this initiative of ITI, members and the friends of ITI will share their Celebration of World Theatre Day. In these difficult times, it is essential to use the art of theatre to fuel people’s spirit on a global scale.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the General Secretariat of ITI: info(at)iti-worldwide.org.
Happy New Year!
May the new year bring you encouragement and inspiration for creating a good life – personally and professionally.
May 2021 become an extraordinary culturally rich year for all of us – in a world where mutual understanding and peace permeates our lives.
----The General Secretariat of ITI
Que la nouvelle année vous apporte encouragement et inspiration pour créer une vie bonne - personnellement et professionnellement.
Puisse 2021 devenir une année extraordinaire et culturellement enrichissante pour nous tous - dans un monde où la compréhension mutuelle et la paix imprègnent nos vies.
----Le Secrétariat général de l'ITI
Excellent News: New Colombian Centre of ITI
It is with big pleasure and pride that ITI is announcing the new Colombian Centre of ITI. After two years of having no Centre in Colombia, Viktor Sebek and Anamarta de Pizarro took the initiative to create it in this country with an important theatre and cultural movement. Anamarta de Pizarro is well-known and well-respected in Colombia for working for the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogota for which she held the positions of Executive Director between 2010 and 2018 and Artistic Director from 2018 through 2020. Viktor Sebek is the Chairman of the South-South Cooperation Council for Sustainable Development and is Vice-President of the Social Change Network of ITI. He is currently co-organizing an artistic Festival and Forum on Sustainable Development Goals in October 2021 in Manila, together with Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, President of the Philippine Centre of ITI.
Contact:
Viktor Sebek - vsebek2008(at)gmail.com
Anamarta de Pizarro - anamarta.depizarro(at)gmail.com
Photo: Anamarta de Pizzaro and Viktor Sebek, Co-Presidents of the Colombian Centre
Ferdausi Majumdar received this year’s Independence Award
Ferdausi Majumdar, the legendary and highly acclaimed and celebrated actress of Bangladesh received this year’s Independence Award, the highest civilian award of the country for her contribution to theatre arts. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh was virtually present as the Chief Guest in the award giving ceremony held on 19 October 2020.
Ferdausi Majumdar is one of the founding members of Bangladesh Centre of ITI and the President of Theatre Drama Group. So far only three theatre personalities received this state recognition. 1998 Ferdausi Majumdar got the Ekushe Padak, the second highest state award. The whole Majumdar family has the dedicated their life to theatre – her husband Ramendu Majumdar, Honorary President of ITI, and also their daughter Tropa.
Members and friends of ITI would like to congratulate her for this outstanding award and wish her good health and continuous possibilities to enchant audiences with her theatrical arts.
Contact: ramendu(at)expressionsltd.com
Photo: Ferdausi Majumdar (left) & Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh(right) at the Award Ceremony.
Ballet Dancer Friedemann Vogel selected to write the message for International Dance Day 2021
The International Theatre Institute ITI, the International Dance Committee of ITI and World Dance Alliance, is taking the opportunity of giving attention to World Ballet Day which is celebrated on 29 October. They also want to inform you that the Friedemann Vogel, the outstanding and internationally celebrated Ballet Dancer from Stuttgart (Germany) has been selected to write the official message for International Dance Day 2021 – celebrated on 29 April.
Friedemann Vogel is the Principal Dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet and a frequent guest artist at major ballet companies around the world including La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow.
If you are interested in receiving more information about International Dance Day, the message of Friedemann Vogel (when it is ready), and the International Dance Committee, please write to idd2021(at)iti-worldwide.org
Photo credit: Yoon6photo
World Theatre Day 2020 – Ceremony with Award Ceremony “Scrivere il Teatro”
9 October 2020, Cine Politeama Theatre Caltagirone - Catania (Italy)
Since 2016 the Ministry of Education of Italy and the Italian Centre of ITI are celebrating World Theatre Day with a competition called “Scrivere il Teatro” (Writing Theatre) for Italian students. Fortunately, the 2020 edition was not cancelled but just postpone to 9 October to happen in a historic theatre and cinema venue with live audience (following the legal instructions for theatre having an audience indoors).
The competition “Scrivere il teatro” is intended to creatively celebrate World Theatre Day by writing theatre. The winning work is staged by students who wrote the theatrical text themselves. They are assisted by professional theatre experts during a 10-day full immersion artistic residence. The emergency of the Covid-19 pandemic prevented the normal implementation of the final phase of the project in March. Everything had to be postponed to the opening of schools in September. But now, the city of Caltagirone in Sicily (Italy) has become the Italian Capital of World Theatre Day 2020 by celebrating the Day and premiering the winning performance “DiscrimatedAnonymous.it” in the city´s Cine Teatro Politeama. The play has been written by the students of class IIIB of the Secusio High School of Caltagirone. Students and school children will be able to see the play online when it is streamed to all Italian schools.
The Celebration 2020 of World Theatre Day in Italy opens with the videoed message of Shahid Nadeem, World Theatre Day message author 2020, followed by introductory words of Fabio Tolledi and Georgio Zorcù, President and Secretary of the Italian Centre of ITI. H.E Lucia Azzolina, Minister of Education of Italy, will speak live over video streaming. The Celebration culminates with premiering the winning play “Discriminated.Anonymous.it”.
Call for Participation
From different members of ITI we have received messages that they have started to perform in or outside of venues – with dance, theatre or other performances. How is it possible? What Covid-19-conditions have to be applied? Please share your story of your Festival, of your performances in or outside of a venue with members and friends of ITI. Your best practice will help others to follow similar procedures.
Please send the story with pictures or a video, and a logo so that we can publish it in one of the next ITI Newsletters. Send it to news(at)iti-worldwide.org. It will give ITI members and friends guidelines and hope.
Picture: Song of the Songs, performed at the archaeological site of Rudiae near Lecce, Italy, in August 2020. Production: Astragali Teatro. Direction: Fabio Tolledi. Performers Roberta Quarta and Simonetta Rotundo, with the Ensemble Montesardo
In Memoriam | Heherson “Sonny“ Alvarez
6 October 1939 – 20 April 2020
Many members of ITI have met Senator Heherson “Sonny” Alvarez, a noble person that a lot of people consider to be a hero. Most of us have met him together with Cecile Guidote Alvarez, President of the Philippine Centre of ITI and UNESCO Artist for peace who he supported throughout his life. That he passed away has saddened many of us and for sure “our” Cecile. In this Newsletter we are sharing the words of the Former House Speaker Jose De Venecia, Jr. who is giving us an insight into the life of his colleague and friend Heherson Alvarez.
May he rest in peace.
If you would like to send Cecile and her family your condolences please send your words to the General Secretariat of ITI – info(at)iti-worldwide.org - who will forward them to Cecile Guidote-Alvarez.
Toolkit for ITI Centres – Tools for Opening and Running a Centre
For quite a while the members of the General Secretariat assembled all the available information that concerns the opening and running of an ITI Centre and put it together in a publication.. It answers questions such as: Who founded ITI? What is the procedure to open a Centre? What are the ongoing artistic, educational and humanistic activities of ITI? How to go about to approach a National UNESCO Commission? What are the tools for increasing membership? Etc. The Toolkit for ITI Centres is available in English, French and Spanish. Please write to info(at)iti-worldwide.org so that we can send you a copy in the language(s) of your choice. The publication exists in PDF format.