News

The beneficiaries of the daCi Call for Twinning, Outreach and Research Projects are now published on the daCi website. You are welcome to browse the supported projects under the 'Initiatives' menu or simply follow the link for:

• Twinning beneficiaries
• Outreach beneficiaries
• Research beneficiaries

daci conference 2027 at Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI)

Tanjong Malim, Malaysia title:

Dance education for all:

Creating Inclusive Spaces for Children

and Young Learners

Aligned with the aims of daCi and daCi conference philosophy, the conference will focus on creating inclusive spaces for children and young learners through dance education for all.

The conference in Malaysia will:

• Focus on creative dance, creative movement and arts expression.
• Advocate for the importance of dance education for children and young learners.
• Facilitate partnerships and encourage ongoing community discussions before, during, and after the conference.
• Prioritize the creativity of children and youth by allowing them to take charge of the conference outcomes.
• Explore connections between dance and various other disciplines.
• Share and analyze research on teaching, learning, and the role of the body in creative dance practices.
• Strengthen collaborations between dancers, choreographers, instructors, and academics.

The conference will be held in a face-to-face mode so all presenters and participants are able to attend in person.

CONFERENCE HOSTS

The Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, the National Child Development Research Center, and the Faculty of Human Development Sultan Idris Education University and the Department of National Unity and Integration, Malaysia.

In August 2025, past Chair, Jeff Meiners visited the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Surrey, England, to update daCi archive material.

Jeff viewed a special selection of materials spanning daCi’s beginnings in Canada (1978) and conferences in Sweden (1982), UK (1988), USA (1991), Australia (1994), Finland (1997) and Taiwan (2012). The organisation is most fortunate to have daCi archive material catalogued and available to researchers or to daCi members.

Special thanks to archivists Helen Roberts and Simon Mackley for their diligent work supporting daCi!

The Faculty of Music and Performing Arts at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris welcomed daCi delegates to the daCi Interim Meeting and Workshop, which was held at UPSI from 10–15 July 2025.
This international gathering, supported by UNESCO, brought together global experts and educators in dance and child development.
Workshops, cultural visits and strategic planning sessions for 2027, paved the way for the daCi conference in Malaysia in 2027.

During the month of June, four students from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa and five students from Makerere University in Uganda embarked on the second phase of their daCi twinning project: Our Earth, Our world, Afrika Speaks, in the city of Kampala, Uganda. The project was largely funded by daCi, with contributions from UCT and private donors, and facilitated by daCi members Associate Professor Lisa Wilson of UCT and Dr. Alfdaniels Mabingo of Makerere University.

The team from Cape Town travelled to Kampala during the period of June 8-15 and together they explored and workshopped the issue of climate change in South Africa and Uganda through music, dance, drama and poetry, and generated a performance that was shared with children at a Ugandan orphanage. Through dance and other creative arts, the children and adults learnt about the causes of climate change and some of the African solutions to this urgent matter on both the macro level of industries and government policies and also on the micro level of the individual. The process included the team from South Africa learning Ugandan songs about the forest and water in the Luganda language and the team from Uganda learning poetry written in South African languages.

Both groups learnt movement choreography that they have been working on during the preparation stages. The creative team also engaged in site-specific dance performances at a critical water source to highlight its importance to the people of the community while embodying a sense of custodianship and care for the environment. Uganda is one of the most biodiverse countries in Africa, and it was a delight for us to see, share and interact with the people and the place and to use dance as a pedagogical tool and advocate for the environment with children.

Explore the highlights of our recent conference in Ljubljana, held from July 7th to July 12th, through a comprehensive documentary of the event. Featuring a collection of images, videos, statements, and important documents, you can capture the key moments and activities of the conference.

Looking ahead, we are excited about our next conference, which will take place in Malaysia in 2027. Join the daCi community to stay connected and engaged with our network. Membership offers opportunities for collaboration, networking, and access to exclusive resources.