What's New in the ISSA Network:

ISSA Hosts Successful 2009 Conference Focusing on Effective Investments in Early Childhood Development

To explore integrated approaches to early childhood development (ECD) as the strongest foundation for well-being and success throughout life, more than 260 early childhood practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and NGO activists from 50 countries from Europe and around the world convened in Bucharest, Romania 14-17 October 2009, at ISSA’s anniversary conference Seeds of Change: Effective Investments in Early Childhood for Enduring Social Progress.

Ten Years of Learning and Growing Together: ISSA Celebrates Its Tenth Anniversary

ISSA 10th Anniversary Slideshow

ISSA was delighted to celebrate its tenth anniversary at this year’s Annual Conference in October in Bucharest, Romania.  The anniversary was highlighted during the conference in a session devoted to ISSA’s first ten years, as well as a special celebratory reception on 16 October, to which all conference participants were invited.  ISSA also marked this milestone with a high level ECD advocacy roundtable prior to the Conference, the launch of the Revised ISSA Pedagogical Standards Competent Teachers of the 21st Century: ISSA's Definition of Quality Pedagogy , and the launch of a Handbook of ECD Experiences, Innovations, and Lessons from CEE/CIS.

Members Celebrate ISSA’s Tenth Anniversary in their Countries

In addition to celebrations at the ISSA Annual Conference in October, ISSA member organizations marked the anniversary in their countries by organizing special events and by awarding certificates of appreciation to key partners and individuals with outstanding performance. Here is an example from Latvia.

ISSA Launches Call for Papers for 2010 Conference

ISSA welcomes presentation proposals for the 2010 Riga Conference Embracing Inclusive Approaches for Children and Youth with Special Education Needs , co-organized by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES), the Center for Education Initiatives (CEI), and ISSA.   ISSA will be hosting the strand on early childhood.

ISSA Initiates ECD Policy Roundtable

On 14 October 2009 in Bucharest, Romania, a Policy Roundtable on Early Childhood Development (ECD) Investing in Early Childhood: The Most Effective Use of a Nation’s Resources was organised by the Romanian Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation and ISSA in partnership with UNICEF, Open Society Institute, and the Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development.

ISSA Launches New Publication to Promote the Importance of Quality in ECD Services

In October 2009, continuing its work on promoting importance of high quality of services  to support  children's development and learning in the early years, ISSA launched a revised version of its Pedagogical Standards: Competent Teachers of the 21st Century: ISSA's Definition of Quality Pedagogy during its 10th anniversary Conference.

ISSA Launches 2010-2012 Strategy

The year 2009 has been a momentous one for ISSA – marking not only ISSA’s 10th anniversary, but also the beginning of a new phase of ISSA’s development, with the launch of its strategy for 2010-2012.  During two Council Meetings in 2009, the ISSA Council developed and adopted a Program and Advocacy Framework for 2010-2012. A Funding Plan and a Members’ Charter were also developed to guide and support strategy implementation. 

ISSA and UNICEF Partner to Map ECD Resources in CEE/CIS

Building upon their close cooperation in the CEE/CIS region, both at the regional and at the national level, UNICEF and ISSA have embarked on a new partnership project, which aims to develop a Directory of Human, Technical, Institutional Resources in the CEE/CIS Region.   The Directory will include information on whether these resources are involved in/prepared for emergency response and disaster risk reduction, as well as a limited number of country profiles on emergency preparedness.

ISSA Member from Croatia Joins Children in Europe Network

ISSA is pleased to announce the launch of the first Croatian language issues of the magazine Children in Europe by ISSA Member Open Academy Step by Step, who has joined the Children in Europe (CiE) network.

ISSA Publications

• Moving Forward Together: Early childhood programs as the doorway to social cohesion. An East-West Perspective

• Compendium of Successful Early Childhood Development Innovations

ISSA Participation in International Initiatives

ISSA Joins Work of UNA Learning Group on Program Development in Contexts of Ethnic Divisions

Zorica Trikic (Center for Interactive Pedagogy CIP, Serbia) was invited to participate in the work of the Learning Group on Program Development in Contexts of Ethnic Divisions as ISSA’s representative.  This Learning Group is – together with five other Learning Groups – part of UNA, a global network on children and ethnic diversity, formerly known as the Joint Learning Initiative for Children and Ethnic Diversity.

ISSA Joins Work of UNA Learning Group on Social Inclusion and Early Childhood Programs

ISSA was invited to join an additional UNA Learning Group, Social Inclusion and Early Childhood Programs, which investigates how to ensure sustainability once good practice has been established.

ISSA Joins EU Civil Society Platform to Promote Multilingualism

On 23 October 2009 the Multilingualism Policy Unit at the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission hosted the launch and first meeting of the new Civil Society Platform to promote multilingualism. The platform consists of non-governmental civil society organisations and media representatives; members were selected through an application process. Aija Tuna, ISSA Program Director, attended this meeting.

ISSA Participates in Roma Decade Meeting on Preschool and Transition to Primary

 Between 19-20 November 2009 in Poprad, Slovak Republic, ISSA Executive Director Liana Ghent represented ISSA at a Decade of Roma Inclusion Meeting: Creativity and Innovation in the Education of Children from Socially Disadvantaged Backgrounds.

ISSA Sends Envoys to Participate in the International Working Group on Peace Building with Young Children

During ISSA’s Council Meeting in Antalya, June 2009, Siobhan Fitzpatrick, ISSA Board President and director of Early Years - the organisation for young children, invited ISSA to send two envoys to participate in the work of the International Working Group on Peace Building with Young Children. Yuliya Karimova (Center for Innovations in Education, Azerbaijan) and Zorica Trikic (Center for Interactive Pedagogy CIP, Serbia) were selected by the ISSA Board to be ISSA’s representatives.

ISSA Participates in Eurochild 6th Annual Conference

ISSA has been a member of Eurochild since 2008. Aija Tuna, ISSA Program Director, represented ISSA at Eurochild’s 6th Annual Conference: Monitoring Child Well-being: better policy and practice, in Cyprus, 11-13 November 2009. 

ISSA Contributes to Discussion on Improving Support for Parenting and Work-Life Balance

Aija Tuna, ISSA Program Director, was invited to represent ISSA in the workshop on Developing Support to Parents through Early Childhood Services organized by theEuropean Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditionson November 27, 2009 in Brussels. This foundation is an autonomous body of the European Union, created to assist in the formulation of future policy on social and work-related matters.

ISSA Network Events:

Embracing Inclusive Approaches for Children and Youth with Special Education Needs

11-14 July 2010 – Riga, Latvia

The Riga 2010 Conference, co-organized by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES), the Center for Education Initiatives (CEI), and ISSA, will serve as ISSA's 2010 Annual Conference.

International ECD News:

• UNICEF’s State of The World’s Children report commemorates 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

  A special edition issue of UNICEF's flagship The State of the World's Children report, tracking the impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the challenges that remain, was released 19 November 2009 on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Convention’s adoption by the UN General Assembly. 
  

• UN Approves Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children

  On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution formally welcoming the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. This initiative was inspired by a call from the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2005 for the international community to come together to develop guidelines to address the gaps between children’s rights and the reality for millions of vulnerable children.
  

• UN Climate Change Conference and Early Childhood: Link to the CG’s blog today!

  Connect to the Consultative Group on Early Childhood Education and Care’s BLOG http://earlychildhoodclimate.blogspot.com/. 
  

Resources:

• ISSA Book Review: Multilingual Learning: Stories from schools and communities in Britain

• Early Childhood Matters: Realising the Rights of Young Children: Progress and Challenges

• Effective Early Childhood Programmes

• Children in Europe: Issue 17 – Twenty Years of Children’s Rights

• Realising Respect for Young Children

• Alternatives to the Market Model in ECEC

• New Study Shows Major Benefits from Investing in Childcare

Events organized by some of ISSA’s partners:

CEC 2010 Convention and Expo

21-24 April 2010 – Nashville, Tennessee, United States

20th EECERA Conference 2010 – Knowledge and Voice in Early Childhood: who knows, who speaks, who listens?

6-8 September 2010 – Birmingham, United Kingdom

Eurochild 7th Annual Conference 2010 – Working Together to End Child Poverty – Building Effective Partnerships

3-5 November 2010 – Orebro Castle, Sweden

NAEYC Annual Conference and Expo 2010

3-6 November 2010 – Anaheim, California, United States

World Forum on Early Care and Education 2011

3-6 May 2011 – Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

Holiday Greetings and Wishes from ISSA:

As the year draws to a close, and we reflect on our experiences as advocates, teachers, parents, and friends, we would like to recognize the beauty that lives in every child. In order to nurture each child as they grow and learn, let us nourish in ourselves the qualities we hope to model for them, whether it be a love of learning, wonder at the natural world around us, or unselfishness, integrity, and a desire to work to improve the world around us.