Date: 20-12-2022

Message from the ISSA Secretariat

Dear ISSA Members and Friends, 

The year 2022 has brought new opportunities and challenges for the ISSA Network, being marked above all, by the war in Ukraine. Despite the painful situation, the ISSA Network responded immediately, with agility and resilience, to the needs of young children and families in Ukraine, and in countries receiving refugees. ISSA raised and channeled funds, mobilized resources and expertise within our network; created and shared resources to support the parents and caregivers of displaced children and to help Ukrainian children continue learning; and trained over 100 Master Trainers from eight countries, who in turn are training hundreds of other trainers in basic psychological first aid to support professionals working with displaced children and families. ISSA’s Ukraine Response has demonstrated the power of the network advantage, especially in times of crisis. 

This year, ISSA continued seeking out opportunities to connect our Members with resources, build cross-sectoral cooperation and expand our network of Members and stakeholders. We also enjoyed opportunities to meet in person once again, with the resumption of in-person trainings and meetings for the first time since 2020. At the same time, we used all the skills we developed during the pandemic and streamlined our delivery of online events, carrying out large multilingual trainings and webinars. 

ISSA continued to act as a knowledge broker, generating and sharing knowledge within and beyond the ISSA Network. In this capacity, ISSA facilitated learning and exchanges through webinars, workshops, trainings, and most recently the ISSA Connects week which culminated with an inspiring and successful event, ISSA Connects to Celebrate 10 Years of REYN, which looked back at the formation and achievements so far of the ISSA hosted initiative, the Romani Early Years Network. 

We are proud to share some of the achievements of the year below. And, as we close off the year 2022, we thank you for your continued support and engagement through adversity and success. We look forward to strengthening our work together in 2023. 

Warm wishes for the holiday season and for a peaceful New Year. 

The ISSA Team