Since 2003 CIAO! has produced festivals at South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell of UK and international performing arts for children and young people. CIAO! has also developed a range of participatory projects in schools and community settings and has run workshops, seminars and networking events for arts/education professionals. From 2010 the festival is moving to Oxford, where the organisation is based.

CIAO!'s festivals offer regional audiences - as well as national and international delegates - an opportunity to experience world class professional performing arts that provide access to other cultures and performance styles. CIAO! festivals and events have included arts from Japan, Israel, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Slovenia, Russia, the Czech Republic and France as well as from across the UK.

CIAO! creates opportunities for children and young people to make discoveries about themselves and their communities through the arts. Past projects have brought young people from diverse backgrounds together to make artistic statements through creative projects and in 2008 a large-scale community project, 'The Journey of a Blanket', allowed West Oxfordshire residents to explore their cultural history and its links with Aboriginal Canadians at the height of the wool trade / fur trade era.

CIAO! brings together professionals working in the children and young people's arts sector for networking, professional development and for the exchange of ideas and working practice. These events usually take place around the CIAO! Festival. Please join the CIAO! mailing list for updates on these sector development opportunities.