Invited by ACO Okinawa, on July 26, Ms. Feng Li, the President of China National Theatre for Children (CNTC), represented ASSITEJ China and CNTC, traveled to Japan to participate in the 21st International Theater Festival OKINAWA for Young Audiences (ricca ricca*festa).

During the festival, Ms. Feng attended Symposiums on ‘Baby Drama’ and ‘The Role of Children / Youth Theatre in Peacebuilding’ and delivered a keynote speech at the symposium on ‘Prospect for Youth and Children’s Theatre in Asia’. Under the theme ‘Let's work together to make TYA better’, she emphasised the importance and support that China places on children’s theatre. She also discussed the recent developments and international exchanges of CNTC, offering constructive suggestions for cooperation among Asian countries. Ms. Feng emphasised that theatre for young audiences has limitless possibilities, leaving not only beautiful childhood memories but also influencing their lifelong growth. Efforts are being made to make high-quality artistic resources more accessible to local communities and public cultural systems, benefiting more children. 

Additionally, Ms. Feng watched 11 different performances from various countries, such as PAREIDOLIA (Chile), The Town Musicians of Bremen (Japan·UK), A MANO (BY HAND) (Spain) and Past Half Remembered (Norway·Czechia·UK). She also participated in after-show discussions with artists to explore new inspiration and perspectives for future creations.

Ms. Feng attended two meetings with ACO Okinawa’s Artistic Director Hisashi Shimoyama and Representative Yasue Oshiro. Both sides engaged in in-depth discussions on mutual visits for creation and tours of productions, and future collaboration among Asian countries.

It has been agreed that long-term planning is key to successful collaboration. With the assurance of stability, China and Japan will gradually initiate plans for mutual visits of productions and collaborative productions, creating more works belonging to Asia through the diversity of cultures. This effort aims to select and nurture more outstanding talents in TYA, establishing a bridge for cultural cooperation and friendship among Asian countries.

Wang Tingyu