Seminars

Small Feet Go Far features a series of high profile seminars and forums that the press can attend. These are in addition to the five theatre productions at the Unicorn Theatre, the nine rehearsed readings, film and literary festivals, all of which are open to the media. Tickets for press are available for all, but must be booked in advance with Kallaway or the venue. Theatre, readings, film and literary events are detailed at www.smallfeetgofar.com. Seminars and forums are below:

Child development and psychology in theatre.
Thursday 12 October, 18:45 - 21:00hrs, The Unicorn Theatre
The discussion follows the rehearsed reading of The Children of Medea and features Professor Suzanne Osten, co-writer of The Children of Medea and director of Unga Klara Theatre Company andJacqueline Rose, writer and academic.




Children and Cinema in Sweden
Thursday 12 October 2006, 10.00am - 4.00pm, The Embassy of Sweden, Reception Suite, 5 Upper Montague Street, London, W1.

The seminar is an opportunity for distributors, cinema programmers, teachers, school administrators and others with an interest in children and cinema to learn more about the film education movement in Sweden, share experiences and develop networks with Swedish representatives.

Opening speeches will be given by Cissi Elwin, CEO for the Swedish Film Institute, and Amanda Neville, Director of the British Film Institute.

Film producer Charlotta Denward will share some personal remarks on her role as a producer of children's films and the challenges she has confronted in producing the successful and pioneering films Elina, Immediate Boarding and Just Bea. She will highlight questions about which issues and genres are suitable in films for children and young people. Charlotta Denward worked as a commissioner for the production of children's films at the Swedish Film Institute from 1996 to1999 and has experience of children films as a film distributor, art house cinema manager and film educator.

Klas Viklund, Head of Education at the Swedish Film Institute, will give an overview of the Swedish national approach to film education and show some examples from distribution projects and teaching experiences in Swedish schools. The presentation will focus on media education as a responsibility for all teachers and the importance of linking film screenings for schools at local cinemas to media education as well as the significance of the pupils having the possibility to create their own films in video workshops.

After a lunch break there will be a forum for the exchange of ideas, teaching experiences and for creating and developing networks for future co-operation. Representatives from distributors, film festivals and film education organisations will be available in a panel. The discussion will be moderated by Justin Johnson, Children´s Film Programmer for the National Film Theatre and the London Film Festival at the British Film Institute.

The seminar includes refreshments and lunch.



Taboos in Children's Theatre
Saturday 14 October, 1630 - 1800, Unicorn Theatre
What makes suitable drama for children? Should children be entertained and challenged, or should a trip to the theatre be an escape from the pressures of every day life? This discussion draws together pioneering writers from Sweden and the UK including Philip Pullman (winner, 2005 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award), Henning Mankell and Professor Suzanne Osten.

Contemporary Swedish Children's fiction in Translation
Thursday 19 October, 09.30 - 16.00, Unicorn Theatre,
Networking opportunity for Swedish and British publishers; establish constructive ways of solving problems relating to language and translations and present new Swedish children's books.

Attendees will learn how British and Swedish public organisations, such as Arts Council England, Book Trust and Swedish Institute, can help publishers from both countries to publish more fiction in translation.

Highlights include:

• Presentation from Jan Hansson, Director, The Swedish Institute for Children's Books, Stockholm on the Current trends in Swedish literature for children and young adults.
  
  
• Round table debate featuring The Book Trust, The Swedish Children's Book Institute and The Swedish Institute on contemporary fiction in translation. Gary McKeone, Director of Literature, Arts Council England, will be chair.
  
  
• Presentation of six new works by Sweden's best children's authors. A presentation of picture books will also be on display. (Authors detailed here)

Cultural Policy for Children
Monday 23 October, 1700 - 1900, Unicorn Theatre
What is cultural policy for children? David Lammy MP, Minister for Culture; Kristina Rennerstedt, Director General, The National Swedish Council for Cultural Affairs and a representative from Arts Council England discuss. The discussion is linked to the Swedish Government's declaration of 2007 as the Year of Children's Culture and Leif Pagrotsky, Sweden's Minister for Education, Research and Culture is expected to take part.