UNESCO

The ITI was founded in 1948 on the initiative of UNESCO and holds formal associate status with UNESCO. It is therefore UNESCO’s official partner organisation in the field of the performing arts. Despite this close link, the ITI is organisationally and financially independent. It has its own member centres, its own charter and its own projects, but operates in accordance with UNESCO’s cultural policy guidelines.

The ITI takes an active and committed stance regarding the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. As the only international theatre NGO, the ITI has the right to speak at the intergovernmental forum – UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. There, the ITI regularly submits statements, reports and recommendations emphasising the importance of cultural diversity and the need to promote it within the theatre sector and beyond.

The German Centre of the ITI represents the World Federation within the framework of the 2005 Convention and exercises this right to speak.

Furthermore, the German Centre of the ITI is actively involved in the National Coalition for Cultural Diversity, coordinated by the German Commission for UNESCO.