Dear Friends,
As I have already mentioned on previous occasions, 2009 is the 25th anniversary of our Festival, which started in 1984.  For us, this occasion has served to reflect on our achievements to date and on our  plans for the future.  In preparation for celebrating our 25th anniversary, we have looked at thousands of photos, hundreds of video and DVD recordings and innumerable magazines going back over the years of our festival.  We are trying to organise all this material into a presentation of the past 25 years’ as part of our anniversary celebrations. In doing this, we have come to realise the value of our work. 

By looking back over the past, we have been questioning ourselves about our future.  The most exciting suggestion, and, it should be said, a natural extension of our work, was to found an international cultural association with its own statute and rules with the aim of promoting many more meetings following the format of our International Youth Festival.

Through this Association, we can make and carry out plans of common interest, not only with the intention of fulfilling our ideals but also being helped by ad hoc organisations.  I’m referring to the European Union which supplies funding for activities such as ours.  It is also our intention to have an itinerant project which can visit many places both in Italy and abroad.  Just think how great and useful it would be to work towards our youngsters being offered the opportunity to visit and perform in different parts of the world.
The first steps that I hope to take towards this end are:

• Making a list of all the clubs and schools interested in joining our Association
• Choosing the schools and clubs that have proved themselves to be worthy of joining our Association
• Presenting our VIVAS project: Living Life through Art and Sport to the Cultural Commission of the European Union with the aim of sharing it
• Holding a meeting for representatives of the Association to draw up a programme
• Finding out which other countries and nations would be interested in building a circuit of itinerant meetings following the format of the International Youth Festival

The Associazione Ok Club here in Italy would take care of providing the headquarters, the statute, the rules and everything else that would help towards its approval and respective funding. It is clearly understood that we welcome your comments on the statute and rules.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Carlo Devoti

Download the two memberships forms for enrolment in the Associazione Ok Club: one for group membership and one for the admission to the Festival.

The rules are those approved by our governing body.
The sum in euros is for participation in the Festival.