‘During these five days the congress will not only discuss the main problems of the international theatre, the initiatives of the theatrical art, but also make assessments about the Armenian theatre. Due to these prominent experts, the Armenian theatrical art may be recognized abroad,' Deputy Minister of Culture of Armenia Arthur Poghosyan said at today's meeting with journalists.

Over 65 theatre critics and theatrical journalists have arrived in Armenia from 30 countries. They are expected to make assessments about the contemporary theatrical processes of Armenia, then return to their countries and publish articles in any famous journal or newspaper.

‘It is the first time such an event is organized in Armenia. We stress the importance of the opinions of international theatrical critics about the modern Armenian theatre. This is quite important not only for the present, but also for the future. This is the reason we intend to publish a guide of the opinions of the critics. I think this is even the most important current theatrical event in Armenia,' President of the Armenian Theater Worker's Union Hakob Ghazanchyan noted.

The International Association of Theatre Critics, founded in Paris in 1956, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, benefiting under statute B of UNESCO. The IATC joins together more than two thousand theatre critics, through some fifty National Sections. The goal of the IATC is to bring together theatre critics in order to promote the international cooperation. Its principals are to foster theatre criticism as a discipline and to contribute to the development of its methodological bases; to protect the ethical and professional interests of theatre critics and to promote the common rights of all its members; and to contribute to reciprocal awareness and understanding between cultures by encouraging international meetings and exchanges in the field of theatre.

The IATC holds world congress every two years, conducts workshops for young critics twice a year, as well as organizes symposiums and tributes to juries.

The 25th congress in Armenia is being held at the initiative of RA Ministry of Culture and Armenian Theater Worker's Union.

‘The implementation of the congress is quite important to the Armenian theatre, which is, unfortunately, not familiar to the international community. The congress will grant the opportunity to represent the Armenian theatre to the world,' President of the IATC Mr Yun-Cheol Kim noted.

ARMENPRESS