Our Vision
South African children and young people will have access to quality performing arts especially designed for, by and with them, contributing to a more empathic, engaged and creative society.
Our mission is to build the sector of theatre for young audiences in South Africa through supporting and developing the artists, empowering education through the performing arts, creating strategies for access to the arts, and advocating for the role of the arts as an essential right of every child and young person.
Flagship Programmes
Cradle of Creativity
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We are grateful to our partners and funders for their support; these include the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and the Department of Basic Education, the National Arts Council, the Connect and Create Fund of the European Union and other international agencies, as well as individual donors who contributed to the #TakeAChildToTheTheatre campaign.
The next Cradle of Creativity will be in 2028, and the destination is still to be determined.
Take a Child to the Theatre
Every year ASSITEJ celebrates the World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People on 20 March, and uses this day to spread its ongoing campaign of “Take a child to the theatre today”, stressing a child’s right to experience the arts.
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ASSITEJ produces a variety of tools to do this, including World Day Messages from its President and other parties, and World Day videos to inspire and advocate for access to the arts for every child. Follow our campaign for #Takeachildtothetheatre on social media, repost and spread the word.
ASSITEJ SA finds opportunities throughout the year to support children’s access to the arts. Take the child or children in your life to the theatre OR support children who would never otherwise have such an opportunity, to see theatre, by donating with the Ref: Takeachild
Theatre4Youth / Arts4Youth
This programme creates a national framework for connecting children and young people with the theatre and arts experiences best suited to them. It has been funded through the Social Employment Fund for five iterations; we are currently employing 1750 artists to work in around 200 organisations in all 9 provinces to reach over 50 000 children and young people a month!
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Theatre4Youth’s online catalogue is a tool to showcase the artistic work best suited to the children and young people of our country, as well as a means to make connections between artists and arts organisations and the learning environments where children and young people are found. Members of Assitej SA have access to the back-end of the catalogue which contains the contacts of thousands of schools and other spaces country-wide.
Through Theatre4Youth, we take children to the theatre and take theatre and the arts to children in creches, community halls, schools, theatres and other spaces.
Theatre4Youth coordinators are based in all nine provinces. This dynamic team ensures that ASSITEJ SA knows what is happening in all parts of the country, so that we can strategise to connect artists with audiences and vice versa. We assist in placing artists in in-school and after-school programmes and in providing young people with both ad-hoc and ongoing artistic experiences.
The site also houses virtual theatre and online workshops and resources.
Arts-Rich Schools
ASSITEJ SA is the official partner to the national Department of Basic Education in the delivery of Creative Arts nationally. Our Arts-Rich Schools Programme with DBE, funded by the National Lotteries Commission, incorporates many of our previous arts education programmes, including KICKSTARTER EDUCATIONAL EMPOWERMENT. This is our highly acclaimed, SACE-accredited and awarded arts-education programme supporting teachers to be able to deliver quality Creative Arts in schools.
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Kickstarter Educational Empowerment targets teachers and community-based artist facilitators to build capacity in delivering the formal Creative Arts curriculum at Intermediate Phase to create arts-rich schools. It uses an experiential, easily accessible, step-by-step methodology, which has been tried and tested since 2000. The programme has been generously funded by Rand Merchant Bank, the First Rand Empowerment Fund and the Social Employment Fund. We have also done this work supported by the DG Murray Trust and DCAS (Western Cape), and now by the National Lotteries Commission.
Under lockdown, Kickstarter went virtual, and Artist-facilitators created video material and other content for teachers to use to develop their teaching practice. Kickstarter workshops are SACE accredited and schools can sign up for ad-hoc or specially designed workshops to support their arts practice.
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Click HereMost Recent News
Nna ke batla ho bona serurubele
"Nna ke batla ho bona serurubele … Nna ke batla ho bona serurubele is a childhood chant. It translates to "I want to see a butterfly. It has visited me since I attended the 2026 ASSITEJ SA Cradle of Creativity Festival and Professional Development in Johannesburg....
Honouring the Legacy, Shaping the Future
Honouring the Legacy, Shaping the Future As we commemorate 70 years of the Women's March, ASSITEJ South Africa honours the legacy of the 1956 Women's March and celebrates the women who continue to shape South Africa's arts, culture, and creative sectors. The arts...
Cradle of Creativity Conference Opens with Sue Giles Address
Sue Giles opened the Cradle of Creativity Conference for professionals (artists and teachers) with the following words: I’m speaking from the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, here in Naarm, Australia. I pay my respects to the elders of this land I...
Thank you for the Magic! – Cradle of Creativity Festival 2026
THANK YOU FOR THE MAGIC!! Now that we are officially finished with the Cradle of Creativity Festival 2026, it is time to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to making this year's festival so successful. Thank you to our Hosts - The Market Theatre, Greg...
What Freedom Means for Artists in South Africa
April in South Africa carries a powerful reminder of where we come from and where we are going. As we approach Freedom Day on 27 April, we pause to reflect not only on our nation’s democratic journey, but also on the meaning of freedom within the arts, especially for...
Nompilo – breaking the silence with a play
Why Child Empowerment Is Central to Justice South Africa is living with a truth that is difficult to face. Between 2018 and 2024, more than 106,000 cases of child rape and 22,000 cases of sexual assault against children were reported to police. Yet fewer than 4 in...
Five iZinga Stars to ASSITEJ SA!
ASSITEJ South Africa has been granted the iZinga Assist Verification Icon! We are excited to announce that ASSITEJ South Africa has been verified by iZinga Assist. This recognition reflects our ongoing commitment to compliance, transparency and delivering real impact...
We are the official national centre of ASSITEJ (Association Internationale du Theatre de l’Enfance et la Jeunesse/International Association of Theatre & Performing Arts for Children and Young People).
Our Dedicated Partners
Thank you to all our partners, supporters, funders and friends.
