Bjørn Skogmo
Paris 11 October 2006
Glitterbird – Art for the very young

Mesdames, Messieurs,

It is a great pleasure and an honour for me to welcome the participants of “Glitterbird – Art for the very young”

I am very happy that Norway has taken the initiative to this European collaboration and thus take part in such an important project in Europe. Oslo University College has worked on this project since 1998, the year it was initiated by the Norwegian Arts Council.

Glitterbird is an important project both artistically and educationally and it gives the small children the possibility to see live performances. The performances are intended for babies and children less than three years of age. During the festival there will be not less than 23 performances performed by (artistic) groups from 5 countries, as well as meetings and debates with many specialists.

Just like Norway, who has worked for a long time with the smallest children from an artistically and educational point of view, France has been an innovator in the domain of live performances for the smallest children and their parents. This scientific, educational and artistic project has been possible thanks to Culture 2000.

I will in particular thank Amalys, our French hosts for receiving this last event of Glitterbird, and I wish you good luck. Thank you.