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Stephen Chifunyise Theatre Column
Last week I wrote about local plans to commemorate three international arts and culture days: the International Mother Language Day, the World Day of Theatre for Children and the World Theatre Day.
Responses from some theatre practitioners were that it was necessary to provide more information about these international arts and culture days so that cultural operators, institutions and arts groups can effectively participate in the commemoration of such days.
The International Mother Language Day was declared in 1999 by UNESCO and has been commemorated since 2000 to celebrate language diversity and multilingualism world.
In 2012, Irina Bokova the Director-General of UNESCO declared: “The language of our thoughts and our emotions is our most valuable asset. Multilingualism is our ally in ensuring quality education for all in promoting inclusion and in combating discrimination.”
UNESCO has announced that the theme for this year’s International Mother Language Day is “Local languages for global citizenship: Spotlight on science.”
In response to CHIPAWO’s announcement about how the organisation plans to celebrate the day, a Chivhu- based theatre practitioner wanted to know who is expected to celebrate this day in Zimbabwe and whether CHIPAWO was appointed by UNESCO to commemorate the day in Zimbabwe.
The answer to this query has been provided by UNESCO that stated: “International Mother Language Day is a global observance. People are encouraged to read books, texts, poems etc in their local or lesser resourced language somewhere in public, impossible. This may raise awareness for the Mother Languages in the world.”
Also requested for was more information about the World Day of Theatre for Children to be commemorated on March 20. Last week, I indicated CHIPAWO’s plans to commemorate that day as the organisation’s Play Day. This day is celebrated worldwide by “the international community of theatre practitioners for children and young people.
On that occasion, in all theatres, messages written by distinguished artists from the field are read before performances and special events.”
The World Day for Theatre for Children is an International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People campaign that is “promoted and celebrated through the message “Take a Child to Theatre Today”.
Around the globe all the 800 national centres of ASSITEJ are expected to celebrate the day by delivering activities “ranging from conferences, performances, and workshops to special events.”
ASSITEJ has also recommended that in all nations the promotional activities of this day could “link to the 25th Anniversary of the rights of the child” which provides a powerful focal point for discussion about children’s rights to theatre which is made especially for them.”
Details about the plans to celebrate the World Theatre Day locally are still very scanty. I appreciate the concerns of the local theatre sector stakeholders that if the details are about this important international day come very close to the actual day, they will not be able to plan adequately to either attend the planned events or to organise their own commemorative events.
The World Theatre Day which is commemorated on March 27 was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute – a UNESCO partner organisation. Each year the 100 national centres of ITI celebrate the day in varied ways.
A very important feature of the celebration is the invitation of a “figure outstanding in theatre or a person outstanding in heart and spirit from another field to share his or her reflections on theatre and international harmony.”
The ITI has just announced that the World Theatre Day 2014 message will be written by Brett Bailey of South Africa. This is very exciting news for the Southern African theatre community as it is a recognition of their colleague as a“figure outstanding in theatre” who will speak to the world about his ideas about theatre and its value to the world community.
Brett Bailey is well known to the Zimbabwean theatre community as a director of HIFA’s opening shows from 2006 to 2009. Bailey is a playwright, a director, a designer and an artistic director of Third World Bunfight and the author of such plays as “Ipi Zombi”, “Big Dada”, “Imumbo Jumbo” and “Orfeus”. He has also worked in the DRC, the UK, Uganda and Haiti.
Also to be commemorated on March 21 are the World Poetry Day and the World Puppetry Day. The World Puppetry Day was declared in 2000 by the International Puppetry Association which is affiliated to UNESCO and is a member of the ITI. The day is used to “promote the art of puppetry trough various events all over the world.”
The World Poetry Day was declared by UNESCO in 1999 “to support linguistic diversity through poetic expressions and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their own communities.”
The day is also aimed at promoting the “return to oral traditions of poetry recitals and to restore a dialogue between other forms such as theatre, dance and music.”
In her message for the World Poetry Day 2013, Irina Bokova, the Director General of UNESCO wrote: “Poetry is one of the purest expressions of linguistic freedom. It is a component of people and it embodies creative energy of culture.”
Only last week I was made aware of the progress towards the establishment of the Zimbabwe Association of Poets being led by one of the big names in Shona poetry performance. All the national writers organisations such as Zimbabwe Women Writers, Zimbabwe Writers Association, Zimbabwe Writers Union, Zimbabwe Academic and Non Fiction Writers and the Writers International Network are expected to come up with nation-wide activities to celebrate this day.
In many countries the broadcasting sector, radio and television hosts poets who not only recite or perform their works but also talk about their works. The collaboration between national associations of cultural operators and artists and the mass media is crucial in the production of highly impacting events to celebrate international arts and culture days.
This a strategy not only of producing cultural content for the broadcasting industries but also as a way of raising the awareness of the public about these different areas of the creative industries being celebrated.
Public institutions and government departments responsible for the arts and culture are also expected to lead the campaign of celebrating these international arts and culture days in their respective countries.
In some cases, statements by the respective authorities are issued on the days of commemorating these arts through the mass media where national activities and plans to celebrate the day are articulated and the value of the arts and related national policies are stressed or explained.
In coming weeks, this column will also feature selected arts networks and international platforms which our cultural operators can use to enhance their capacity to learn from others about the development and promotion of their creative industry.
Some of the networks are channels of participating in global events that enhance the exposure of artists and the marketing of their products.
This week, I feature the ASSITEJ Playwrights Network (Write local. Play global) which is inviting playwrights from all over the world who are interested in reading short excerpts of their recent plays on May 29-30 during the ASSITEJ World Congress to be held in Warsaw, Poland.
Playwrights who are interested in participating in this forum and are writing plays for children and young people should communicate with the network at [email protected]
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