Date: 19-03-2015

ISSA welcomes five new members

ISSA is delighted to welcome five new members to our ever expanding learning community. Our newest members come from Italy, France, Luxembourg and Russia. ABCittà Social Cooperative are based in Milan, Italy. Formed by a group of professionals with different experiences in participatory planning, their skills relate to human and social sciences, sustainable development, the organization and management of complex systems, planning and urban design, the psychology of development and culture of childhood and adolescence. For several years, ABCittà has been committed to the Sar-San project for the promotion of Roma rights of in Rome and several staff members have joined the REYN network. ABCittà works closely with ISSA in the Roma Partnership Project, funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, which has supported ISSA in expanding the REYN network in to Western Europe. From France, we are happy to welcome College Cooperatif Rhone-Alpes. The college promotes the social and solidarity economy by supporting the development of professionals and institutions who are facing up to changing circumstances. Based on a cooperative pedagogy, their work focuses on social promotion, cooperative education, research and action. They offer qualifications and diplomas based on their skills and experience and carry-out studies and action research in the field of social intervention. Their current work includes: preparation of teachers; non-formal ECD programs and parent education; special needs training on inclusion and early interventions; minority rights and Roma education. 4motion from Luxembourg focuses mainly on three areas; participation, diversity and well-being. In the field of participation they facilitate brainstorming and decision-taking sessions for both adult and youth groups. They work regularly with youth organizations and institutions such as youth houses and the national agency for youth political participation. Through specifically designed awareness training such as: Diversity4Kids, Gender4Kids, and Gender Diversity Management, 4motion train for diversity with the intention of developing consciousness and fostering a peaceful social environment. In relation to well-being, they offer training such as Wellbeing4Kids and Zen4Kids, which are used to target educational personnel. The Academy of Interests Kindergarten in Moscow base their work on the humanistic perception of the child as an individual by asserting that each child’s interests is central to their educational process. The Academy’s program not only helps children acquire all the necessary knowledge and skills needed to prepare for school, but also promotes independence, curiosity, persistence, creativity and the ability to cooperate; the basic skills that help determine success in adult life. Classes at the Academy enable a comprehensive approach to the education of children and provide full and harmonious development. Interesting Kindergarten in Moscow works on the same methodology as the Academy of Interests Kindergarten, in so far as it believes in a comprehensive approach to the education of children by providing them with a full and harmonious development. To achieve intellectual and emotional assimilation of the child the main approach of their methodology is to deliver a holistic education to the individual while constructing the learning process around the interests of the child.