The festival which is in its eight edition begins on friday.

The Eight Edition of the African Theatre Festival for Children and Young People (FATEJ) will take place in Yaoundé from November 12 to 19, 2010. The festival will bring together children and young people from countries like Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Niger, South Africa Togo, Tunisia, and Cameroon. There will also be some guests of honour from countries like Belgium, Denmark, France, South Korea, Sweden and Switzerland.. The information is contained in a kit announcing the event.

The theatre festival will also comprise workshops for actors facilitated by Cathy Aulard from France and an international symposium on the theme; “Theatre for Children and Young People in Africa: The Potential Issues.” There will also be several meetings on the sidelines of the festival, including one to enable directors explain their work.

The African Theatre Festival for Children and Young People was first organised in 1996 Douala and Yaoundé and has since taken place every two years. It was initiated with the aim of creating an atmosphere of theatre experiences and encounters for children and young people. It also serves as an arena for African theatre troupes to come in contact with the rest of the world. Troupes from non-African countries are invited as guests of honour with the overall aim of promoting the exchange of ideas and experiences among theatre troupes for children and young people. Thanks to the FATEJ initiative, African theatre troupes have been touring the world making presentations. Nationally, FATEJ has been working with nursery, primary and secondary schools to inculcate the theatre culture in the children and raise awareness among the public. Work that has earned FATEJ the recognition of the international association of children’s theatre known as ASSITEJ.