Julia Dina Heße
Julia works as a Dramaturg, Director and Presenter. In 2018 she left her position as Artistic Director of the Young Theatre Münster to focus on international projects and coproductions. In 2019 she was granted a scholarship in the postgraduate programme of art mediation Hildesheim-Marseille (PhD topic: Ecological sustainability in narratives & aesthetics of TYA). 

She has been serving as Vice-President of ASSITEJ Germany since 2018, where she is also in charge of the ‘International Director’s Exchange’. Since 2024 she represents ASSITEJ Germany on the advisory board of the dance & theatre section of Goethe Institute. 

In addition to her artistic work mainly dedicated to interdisciplinary performances for the early years Julia is a lecturer at the University of Münster, co-edited the book “Children’s Theater. Youth Theatre. Future perspectives for a genre.” and published papers in TYA related books and magazines.

Jon Daffyd-Kidd
Jon trained as a musician before transitioning into theatre. He is passionate about inclusion, access, and creating opportunities for those who benefit from creative experiences but who do not have access to creativity.

As Head of PAWB (Participation) for leading Wales-based Hijinx Theatre, he is strategically responsible for developing opportunities for learning-disabled and neurodivergent young people and communities as audiences and performers. His work also includes directing the annual Hijinx production in the Wales Millennium Centre, facilitating across a number of projects, and supporting developing inclusive facilitation as a core creative skill. He works across Wales, and across borders.

In 2020, Jon established and produced Music Theatre Wales programme ‘Future Directions’, which offers young people creative residencies to understand and develop professional creative pathways.

He is a trained Life Coach and Neuro-Linguistics Programming Practitioner, supporting creatives in Wales to develop and flourish in ways that create real impact.

Jon was Chair of the International Inclusive Arts Network (2018-2022).

Theis Irgens
Theis Irgens is based in Kristiansand, Norway, where he works as a theatre maker and performer in the art collective, Spektra. They make performance installations aiming to create experiences that can be shared by people with different abilities, in mutual dignity and joy.

Theis has worked for ASSITEJ Norway from 2018 to 2024, producing the International Norwegian ASSITEJ Festival in Kristiansand and working on lots of multinational projects and collaborations. In 2019, Theis was the producer of the ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering in Kristiansand. 

Since the planning of the Nordic Venue at AAG2019, Theis has been an active force in developing the Nordic-Baltic ASSITEJ Network (NBAN). The NBAN aims to strengthen artistic exchange and resource sharing in our region and facilitate connections between the Nordic-Baltic countries and the international ASSITEJ network.