Message from the President of the International Dance Council:

Official message for Dance Day

29 April 2007
 

This year's Dance Day is dedicated to the children.

The International Dance Council CID UNESCO, together with UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, fights for measures to give children the best start in life, because proper education forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future.

We believe that caring for children is the cornerstone of human progress. Our primary goal is to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. Thus we advance the cause of humanity.

Dance is a basic component of personal and societal development. We recommend quality basic education in dance for all children with an emphasis on gender equality and eliminating disparities of all kinds.

No child should be left without the opportunity to learn and to practice dance. Access to the art consitutes a right for every person, and children in particular. This right should be protected, in order to help meet their basic needs and reach their full potential.

CID upholds dance instruction by qualified teachers at all levels of formal education, because dance constitutes a strong foundation for a person’s well being.

Prof. Alkis Raftis
President of the International Dance Council CID
UNESCO, Paris

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1. The official Dance Day message is mailed to over 100,000 dance professionals in 200 countries. It is translated to dozens of languages. Please ask for a translation, or translate the message to the language of your country; send it to dance organizations and the media. You can find guidelines and previous messages at the CID web site.
2. Dance Day has been established in view of attracting attention to the art of dance, every year on the 29th of April. On that day, dance companies, dance schools, organizations and individuals, professionals as well as amateurs, are asked to organize an activity addressing an audience larger than their usual one.
3. The International Dance Council (Conseil International de la Danse - CID) is the official umbrella organization for all forms of dance in all countries of the world. It is a non-governmental non-profit organization founded in 1973 within the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, where it is based. It is a worldwide forum bringing together international, national and local organizations as well as individuals. It represents the interests of the dance world at large and consults accordingly governments and international agencies.

Conseil International de la Danse - CID - International Dance Council
UNESCO, Paris, France
www.cid-unesco.org

Britannia will determine what their Dance Day activity will be.