We are a proud member of the largest international organization for the performing arts. ITI was created on the initiative of the first UNESCO Director General, Sir Julian Huxley, and the playwright and novelist, JB Priestly, in 1948, just after the Second World War. This was the beginning of the Cold War when the Iron Curtain divided East and West. The founders of ITI aimed to build a cultural organization for the performing arts aligned with UNESCO’s goals on culture, education, the arts, mutual understanding and peace. It should focus its endeavours on improving the status of all members of the performing arts professions. They envisaged an organization that created platforms for international exchange and engagement in the performing arts education for beginners and professionals alike and using the performing arts for mutual understanding and peace.