Last week, ISSA member International Child Development Initiatives (ICDI) hosted a Peer Learning Activity to discuss child rearing practices and the availability and implementation of child and family services in the Balkan region of Europe. Over the course of two days, ISSA members from Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, the Netherlands and Serbia came together to dive into the discourse around raising children in families and communities where violence is still the norm. Peer Learning Activities are offered by the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) to its members to support capacity building and exchange.

Facilitated by experienced ICDI coordinators, the multinational team conducted a dynamic discussion around the current availability of child, parent and family support, the role of community and the impact of violence in a young child's life. The event also included a study visit to the Centre for Children and Families in The Hague (the Netherlands), where the participants met the children's services coordinator, the children's nurse and two family coaches.

This was a great opportunity to exchange experiences on family support work and to better understand the Dutch approach to child protection. Together and over the course of the two day event new directions for intervention and community development were identified, striving for a better quality of life for young children and their families in East and South-Eastern Europe.

Read more about ICDI's activities and mission here.