Dear Colleagues,

We are already well in to the New Year.  With three months (and one Congress) under my belt, I feel as though I can no longer put the word “new” in front of my position title.  It was wonderful to meet as many of you as I did in New York and thank you for all of the emails and notes commenting on the Congress – the feedback is welcomed and appreciated. 

New York 2008 – The Expectation of Experience
I must begin by thanking and congratulating Colin Jackson for Chairing such a successful Congress.  From the stirring keynote address by Ben Cameron of the Doris Duke Foundation through to the lovely reception on the final evening hosted by Durban’s Playhouse Company, we were provoked, thoughtful, challenged and, at times, amused.  There were some 240 full delegates from 34 countries and an additional 40 day registrants and guests.

We have had a lot of requests for materials from this Congress – we are in the process of creating a resource centre which will house materials provided by the various speakers.  Check back on our web site for the most recent updates.

We also held our Annual General Meeting during the Congress.  One hundred and twenty full members joined us to undertake a number of points of business, not the least of which was electing a new Board of Directors chaired by Benson Puah of The Esplanade, Singapore.  We also welcomed 5 new members to the Board and also said good-bye to 5. Over the course of the next few weeks we will also be reconstituting our committees and will keep you posted.

If you attended the Congress you will have now received an email from Dominique Sarrazin requesting you to complete a survey.  Please help us improve future Congresses with your input.

Durban 2008 – Ubuntu Revisited
We continue to work hard to move forward with our plans for the next June Congress, to be held in Durban, South Africa, from June 19-22, 2008 (Congress) and June 22-24, 2008 (The Academy). Continue to check our website for more information on this congress as it becomes available.  Our hosts, the Playhouse Company have secured Congress accommodation rates at three hotels and have also secured excellent airfare rates through South African Airways.  Please note that flights must be booked by April 30, 2008.  I am also delighted to report that the Playhouse Company has secured funding to provide registrations to 89 local delegates!

New York ‘09
I know we just completed our New York Congress but it’s never to early to mark in your calendars January 13-15, 2009.  The 2009 Congress will be chaired by Ella Baff (Jacob’s Pillow) and Jacqueline Davis (New York Public Library for the Performing Arts).

Again, thank you for all your feedback and please stay in touch.

Sincerely,

David Baile
Chief Executive Officer
International Society for the Performing Arts

Upcoming International Congresses:
June 2009: Sao Paolo
June 2010: Zagreb

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