%20(2)0000.png)
7th Creative International Digital Encounter
"CHILDREN & YOUTH PERFORMING ON AIR"
The online festival “Theatre in Front of a Microphone” returns for its 7th consecutive year, giving children, teenagers, and young people from Greece, Cyprus, and the Greek diaspora the opportunity to create and present a radio theatre play, fairy tale, poem, or story (up to 10 minutes).
The festival “YOUTH THEATRE ON AIR” dedicated to the memory of Maria Anastasiadi, is the result of a collaboration between the Theatrical Visual Arts Cultural Centre “Poupoulo” (Thessaloniki, Greece), Motivation in Arts Foundation (Paphos, Cyprus), and the Creative Drama & Arts Centre (Melbourne, Australia). Its aim is to allow the Greek language, culture, and theatrical expression to travel through radio frequencies and the internet to Greek communities around the world.
The distinctive and comparative advantage of the initiative lies in its digital nature, which enables collaboration beyond borders and distance. At the same time, it is an open-access initiative on the global web that connects Greek children from different parts of the world, creating “satellites” for the dissemination of Greek spirit and culture.
Within the framework of the festival, there are three categories of works:
-
Category A – CHILDREN’S
-
Category B – YOUTH
-
Category C – GREEK DIASPORA
The event, which began in 2020 and has now evolved into an institution, gathered this year more than 500 children’s and youth voices from 30 theatre groups and schools from Greece, Cyprus, and Melbourne, offering audiences unique theatrical experiences.
On Saturday, the Opening Ceremony of the 7th International Festival “Theatre on the Radio – Youth Theatre On Air 2026” was held with great success. For the seventh consecutive year, the festival connects schools from Greece, Cyprus, and the Greek Diaspora through the art of audio storytelling. The organizers of the festival are the Theatrical Visual Arts Cultural Centre in Thessaloniki, Motivation in Arts in Paphos, and Creative Drama & Arts in Melbourne. This year was distinguished by the high quality of submissions, original radio creations, and the strong artistic presence of students and educators.
JURY COMMITTEE 2026
Asterios Peltekis
(Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Northern Greece, actor, director)
– Primary Education Awards
Kyriakos Pastidis
(Radio Producer at RIK, Educator)
– Secondary Education Awards
Spyros Kavakopoulos
(Sound Technician at ERT)
– Editing / Sound Effects Distinction – Secondary Education
Themis Kallos
(Director of the Greek Program at SBS)
– Editing / Sound Effects Distinction – Primary Education
Ilias Kipouros
(Musician, Composer)
– Music Score Distinction – Primary Education
Dr. Renata Dalianoudi
(Musicologist, Associate Professor of Music and Audiovisual Culture, Department of Audio & Visual Arts, Ionian University)
– Music Score Distinction – Secondary Education
Dr. Andri H. Constantinou
(Associate Professor, Department of Education Sciences, Frederick University)
– Theatrical Speech Distinction – Secondary Education
Anna Giannakidou
(Actress, Director, and Music Producer at ERT)
– Theatrical Speech Distinction – Primary Education
Loria Charilaou
(Musician, Educator)
– Musical Performance Distinction
Dr. Stavroula Nikoloudi
(Coordinator of the Greek Studies Program, La Trobe University)
– “Greek Language & Theatre in the Diaspora” Distinction
Keynote Speech
The keynote speaker of the ceremony was Dr. Konstantinos Thomaidis, Associate Professor of Voice and Theatre at the University of Exeter (England), with the presentation:
“Your Voice on the Radio: This One, These Many”
Dr. Thomaidis highlighted the uniqueness of the radio voice, describing radio as “a sonically designed universe,” where the voice gains “absolute responsibility but also absolute freedom.”
His talk focused on how children’s expressive freedom can be cultivated and also included elements of workshop interaction.
Short Biography
Dr. Thomaidis is the founder of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Voice Studies, editor of the Journal of Interdisciplinary Voice Studies, and editor of the Routledge Voice Studies series.
He has participated as an actor, director, and musician in more than 40 professional productions and has taught voice in drama schools and universities internationally.
FESTIVAL RESULTS 2026
AWARDS
Primary Education
Judge: Asterios Peltekis
1st Prize
“Peace – The Story of a Refugee Child” — Class D1, 1st Primary School of Arta
2nd Prize
“The Little Prince” — 24th Primary School of Kavala
3rd Prize
“The Mouse and the Daughter” — Class D2, 1st Primary School of Arta
Secondary Education
Judge: Kyriakos Pastidis
1st Prize
“The Blue Bird” — Poupoulo Theatre Workshop, Thessaloniki
2nd Prize
“The Quiltmaker’s Gift” — Panagia Theoskepasti Gymnasium, Paphos
3rd Prize
“How Many Meters Is Our World?” — Saint John Chrysostom Gymnasium, Lakatamia, Cyprus
COMMENDATIONS
Primary Education
-
“The Exodus of Messolonghi” — Bentleigh Campus, Greek Community of Melbourne
-
“What’s Happening with Mary?” — Kornos Primary School, Cyprus
-
“Elmer – The Patchwork Elephant” — 9th Primary School of Arta
Secondary Education
-
“Thank You Very Much, My Doctor – Drowned” — Acropolis Lyceum, Cyprus
-
“The Tree of Common Earth” — Evriviadio Gymnasium of Larnaca
-
“Books Are Talking” — 1st Grade, Balwyn Campus, Melbourne
DISTINCTIONS & SPECIAL AWARDS
Greek Language & Theatre in the Diaspora
Judge: Dr. Stavroula Nikoloudi
Distinction
“The Turnip” — Balwyn Campus, Melbourne
Commendation
“Books Are Talking” — Balwyn Campus, Melbourne
Sound Effects & Editing
Primary Education
Judge: Themis Kallos
-
“The Mouse and the Daughter” — Arta
-
“Peace – The Story of a Refugee Child” — Arta
-
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” — Psathopyrgos
COMMENDATIONS
“The Exodus of Messolonghi” — Bentleigh Campus, Melbourne
Secondary Education
Judge: Spyros Kavakopoulos
-
“The Bag and the Little Bag” — Aglantzia Gymnasium
-
“The Blue Bird” — Thessaloniki
-
“When the Sun… A Contemporary Perspective” — Nicosia
Musical Score
Primary Education
Judge: Ilias Kipouros
-
“Peace – The Story of a Refugee Child” — Arta
-
“The Little Prince” — Kavala
-
“The Power of Love” — Agioi Anargyroi
COMMENDATIONS
“The Little Prince and the Fox” — 6th Intercultural School of Evosmos
Secondary Education
Judge: Dr. Renata Dalianoudi
-
“The Komboloi” — Mathesi Campus, Melbourne
-
“The Quiltmaker’s Gift” — Paphos
-
“The Blue Bird” — Thessaloniki
Theatrical Expression
Primary Education
Judge: Anna Giannakidou
-
“The Little Prince” — Kavala
-
“The Turnip” — Balwyn Campus, Melbourne
COMMENDATIONS
-
“Peace – The Story of a Refugee Child” — Arta
-
“Acharnians” — 21st Primary School of Thessaloniki
Secondary Education
Judge: Dr. Andri H. Constantinou
-
“The Quiltmaker’s Gift” — Paphos
-
“The Blue Bird” — Thessaloniki
-
“When the Sun… A Contemporary Perspective” — Nicosia
Musical Performance (Song)
Judge: Loria Charilaou
-
“Roots Spread Through the Earth” — 11th Primary School of Chios
-
“From the Place They Brought Us” — Saint Neophytos Lyceum, Paphos
-
“The Tailor of Words” — 7th Primary School of Arta
-
Audience Award
“The Country with the Strange People” — Akaki Primary School, Nicosia
The Opening Ceremony of the 7th Festival “Theatre on the Radio” once again highlighted the power of voice, collaboration, and children’s creativity.
The festival continues with activities, listening sessions, and educational programs that strengthen the vocal and theatrical expression of the younger generation.
On May 12th, at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), the workshop “Sound and Voice on the Radio” will take place for students who participated in this year’s festival. The workshop will be coordinated by Rita Poutachidou, representative of the organization in Greece, together with Christina Chatzimichailidou, followed by a guided tour of the ERT3 radio studios.
The award-winning works will be broadcast with the support of ERT and the radio stations ERT, RIK, SBS, and World Radio.
We warmly thank our communication sponsors and collaborators for their support.
With the same inspiration and love for children’s voices, we renew our meeting for Youth Theatre On Air 2027.
This year’s Youth Theatre On Air 2026 Festival was dedicated to the memory of Maria Anastasiadi.
Special thanks to our long-standing media sponsors, ERT3 and RIK, who consistently stand by our side, as well as radio producers Anna Giannakidou and Kyriakos Pastidis for their continuous support.
.png)
7ΤΗ YOUTH THEATRE ON AIR
6ΤΗ YOUTH THEATRE ON AIR
International Digital Encounter
"CHILDREN & YOUTH PERFORMING ON AIR"
"Radio turned into Theater Stage and we went from having Viewers to having Listeners!"
Social distancing and the inability to stage performances, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, made us more resourceful instead of holding us back. We just shifted attention from what we “couldn’t do”, to what we “could do”. Theatre on Air, once celebrated for its power to excite and inspire, became our “playground” and radio waves took youth’s dramatic expression and travelled it to new wave-lengths from Greece and Cyprus, as far as Australia!
Joining forces with Motivation in Art (Pafos), and the Creative Drama & Arts Centre of the Greek Community of Melbourne, the Theatrical Cultural Artistic Centre ''Poupoulo'' (Thessaloniki), organised the 1st International Digital Exchange, "CHILDREN & YOUTH PERFORMING ON AIR".
Youth took over the microphone and performed on Air excerpts from classic plays and myths to fairytales. Broadcasted by national radio-stations, in all partner countries, the performances reached different corners of the world and exerted strong emotional responses from families, relatives and friends. Radio turned into Theatre Stage and we went from having Viewers to having Listeners!
Theatre on Air provides ground for experimentation, creative exchange and active learning. Though it did not compensate for the all-round transformative, physical experience of theatre, it permits other liberties, and, makes its own demands.
"CHILDREN & YOUTH PERFORMING ON AIR" engaged youth creatively and kept it connected, enabled cultural exchange and familiarised with great works of literature. Equally important, it was Covid-19 safe and made good and conscious use of digital media.
Our intention is to make "CHILDREN & YOUTH PERFORMING ON AIR" grow and expand. We will use Theatre on Air to build bridges among countries, cultures and youth. Information regarding the upcoming “gathering” and its terms and conditions of participation will follow shorty. Stay tuned!!!
The first 7 recorded adaptations of plays of the 1st International Radio-Internet Meeting of children and adolescent theater groups from Greece, Cyprus and Australia entitled "Theater in front of a microphone" have been successfully completed and broadcast on air.
The main source of inspiration for this particular initiative was the Radio Theater, a genre of dramatic art that was very successful in the 1920s and was one of the first choices for the newly established Western radio stations, led by the British BBC.
Many amateur theater groups had the opportunity to talk on the radio, to explore new forms of expression, as well as to experiment creatively with new technologies. At the same time, this unprecedented experience for all participants had as its vehicle the Greek language, which traveled through radio frequencies to different parts of the world, moving the ubiquitous Hellenism!
The impact of the action on the public exceeded all expectations. A large number of children and adolescents participated from all three countries. Adaptations of seven plays were heard in Greece and Cyprus, while in Australia the children and young people of the Greek community continue this exciting journey in the world of radio theater until September, giving a dynamic presence to the radio SBS Greek with new recordings. In Greece, the works traveled through the 102fm radio waves of ERT3 and in Cyprus the transmission took place through the First Program of RIK. The recordings remain available to the general public online.
This innovative action, which aims to become an institution, returns dynamically in September 2020 with the organization of the 2nd International Radio-Internet Meeting and aspires to be a bridge of communication and "voice" for all Greeks abroad, gathering even more amateur teams from Greece, Cyprus, Australia and wherever possible.
