International Theatre Institute of the United States.

The International Theatre Institute (ITI) is a non-governmental organization that was created by theatre professionals in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) to promote the international exchange of knowledge and practice in theatre arts. Such artists as Lillian Hellman and Archibald MacLeish of the U.S., Jean-Louis Barrault of France, and Tyrone Guthrie and J.B. Priestley of the U.K. took part in its formation. It was felt that the theatre needed an official voice after World War II, as artists "could and should communicate across borders even when their governments [might] not." Its Charter was adopted in 1948, its functioning is patterned after that of Unesco: the Institute is composed of National Centers, (it began with 8 and had 90 by 2005). The first Secretary General was Maurice Kurtz, a theatre lecturer and original member of the Unesco secretariat. The founding Director of the U.S. National Center was theatre writer and editor Rosamond Gilder

From the description of International Theatre Institute / Martha W. Coigney Collection, 1946-2006. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 213283576

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