As every year, we bring you a message from the Secretariat of ASSITEJ International, written by Sue Giles, President of the ASSITEJ International network.

The campaign that accompanies this date, “Staging the Rights of Children,” uses the opportunity to remind the global community of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including, importantly, the right of every child to quality education and access to the arts. This is a global campaign that highlights the importance of culture for all children and young people. It also initiates a range of activities, adapted to local contexts, that take place worldwide every March 20.

On behalf of ASSITEJ Serbia, this year’s message is delivered by Dunja Matić, playwright and dramaturg. In her gentle message, Dunja seeks to evoke memories of our first encounters with theatre, in order to raise awareness of the importance of the emotions we carry within us and that we, as theatre professionals today, pass on to children and young people.