Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the International Theatre Institute

The International Theatre Institute - ITI Worldwide, World Organization for the Performing Arts is an international non-governmental organisation, established by UNESCO in Prague in 1948, in the time of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain between the East and the West, with the participation of the international theatre community. The founders' objective was to build an organisation oriented towards realising the goals of UNESCO in the field of culture, education and art.

ITI is a world-wide network whose objectives are the promotion of international exchange of knowledge and practices in the field of performing arts (drama, dance, musical theatre and other forms), and its purpose is to connect artists of all nations, to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation, to draw attention to the importance of respecting human rights, cultural diversity, encouraging education, and finally, to develop creative cooperation between all the creators in this field.

Once based in Paris, and today in Shanghai, the ITI includes more than 90 national centres on the African continent, in the Americas and the Caribbean, in the Arab world, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe. For decades the ITI has been present all over the world with recognisable events such as International Theatre Day (27 March), International Dance Day (29 April), a book series World of Theatre in English, French and Arabic, ITI festival Theatre der Welt, with activities that no similar association carries out (Theatre in the conflict zone in Sudan). ITI is also the main UNESCO partner in the project World Performing Art Capital, and, together with UNESCO, an initiator of the revival of theatre academies network and the custodian of the Theatre of Nations trademark, and within its activities also connects with many other respected associations - ASSITEJ (International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People), IATC (International Association of Theatre Critics), IATA (International Amateur Theatre Association), FIA (International Federation of Actors), IFTR (International Federation for TheatreResearch), UNIMA (International Puppetry Association), SIBMAS (International Association of Libraries, Museums, Archives and Documentation Centres of the Performing Arts), OISTAT (International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians), ATI (Arabic Theatre Institute), and others.

In the jubilee year for the ITI and in the spirit of future cooperation with the Maribor Theatre Festival and the Slovenian Centre ITI, three activities of international cooperation are included in the Festival programme.

First, as a part of the beginning activities of the Festival, the Slovene Centre ITI and the Swiss Centre ITI will participate with a student production, workshop and student/young artist exchange. Both centres are a part of the ITI/UNESCO Network for Higher Education in the Performing Arts via theatre academies in their respective countries, a joint initiative of UNESCO and the ITI, which currently includes more than 20 institutions of higher education or research in theatre, dance, musical theatre, playwriting and all related performative disciplines. A long-term goal of such cooperation between the Maribor Theatre Festival and the Slovene Centre ITI and consequently the entire international ITI network is the promotion of good practice in the field of cooperation and exchange, with a particular emphasis on education of young artists and their inclusion in the professional work in theatre.

Second, in both ITI centres, young dramatic artists are also participating in the ITI NEAP (ITI Network of Emerging Arts Practitioners) or the so called "youth network", which this year organises a year-long project of exchange of young artists among more than 10 member states of the ITI European Regional Council. Within this exchange we will host a Swiss student at the Maribor Theatre Festival, while a Slovenian student will take a part in one of the events of the Swiss Centre ITI. And, third, on 23 October, co-organised by the Slovene Centre ITI, the German Centre ITI, the ITI ACAR (ITI Action Committee for Artists Rights) and the Maribor Theatre Festival, a one-day international event entitled The Challenges of Artistic Freedom will take place.