International Study Group 2014

LORIS MALAGUZZI INTERNATIONAL CENTRE REGGIO EMILIA, ITALY

April 6 - 11, 2014

“From the beginning we concentrated on the observation of the explorations of processes and of strategic theories of children as premises and tools for studying, analysing and reflecting on hypothesis as well as for adjusting contents, attitudes and proposals for the actions of teachers”

Study Group The Reggio Emilia Approach to education

Loris Malaguzzi Over the years, as well as its own International Network, Reggio Children has activated exchanges and relationships with educators, researchers, designers, architects, professionals from different backgrounds, various public bodies, NGOs, publishers and others in different parts of the world.

Professional development initiatives, showings of the Hundred Languages of Children and the Wonder of Learning Exhibitions, translating texts in more than 18 different languages and distributing publishing materials have all been opportunities for starting and developing dialogues, collaborations and research projects.

Since Reggio Children’s birth in 1994, more than 250 study groups from more than 110 different Countries of the world (almost 4000 participants every year) have come to Reggio Emilia, visited the Preschools and Infant Toddler Centres, participated in meetings and conversations with teachers, atelieristas, pedagogistas, parents and community members, attended presentations about the main elements of the Reggio Emilia Approach.

Reggio Children in the school year 2013/2014 promotes an International Study Group that will take place in Reggio Emilia, Italy at the Loris Malaguzzi International Center on April 6-11, 2014.

Join us and other educators from all over the world interested in the Reggio Emilia Approach.

“Education is a right of all, of all children, and as such is a responsibility of the community.

Education is an opportunity for the growth and emancipation of the individual and the collective; it is a resource for gaining knowledge and for learning how to live together; it is a meeting place where freedom, democracy and solidarity are practiced and where the value of peace is promoted.

Within the plurality of cultural, ideological, political and religious conceptions, education lives by listening, dialogue and participation; it is based on mutual respect, valuing the diversity of identities, competencies and knowledge held by each individual and is therefore qualified as secular and open to exchange and cooperation” “The Reggio Emilia Approach to Education: - Identity and aims of the Infant Toddler Centres and Preschools - The principles of the educational project - Essential elements in the daily life of the Infant Toddler Centres and Preschools “ Reference “Indications Preschools and Infant Toddler Centres of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia” published by Reggio Children

“The school is an inexhaustible and dynamic organism where the organization of the work and the educational programme are integrated. Our objective, which we always pursue, is to create an amiable environment, where children, families and teachers feel the sense of wellbeing.”

Loris Malaguzzi

The weekly International Study group program will be also developed through: - Encountering the town of Reggio Emilia, its community and its context - Presentations by pedagogistas, atelieristas and teachers on the principles of the educational project of the Preschools and Infant-toddler Centres Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia - Research projects realized inside the Preschools and Infant-toddler Centres will be shared and offered as opportunities to study together - Preschools and Infant Toddler Centres will be visited as an example of visible learning - Visit to the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre and to the Documentation and Educational Research Centre - Working groups - Discussions groups

Individual participation fee: Euro 1260 (Italian taxes included + 2 buffet lunches at Pause “Atelier of tastes” included) Language: Italian/English The Loris Malaguzzi International Center will be the venue for the study week.

Accommodation and travel expenses are not included in the fee.

The deadline for registrations is March 6, 2014 Registrations will be confirmed by Reggio Children. The confirmation letter will include payment details. Spaces are limited and registrations will be processed according to date of arrival.

For further information on the International Study Group, please contact: sporpora@reggiochildren.it or visit www.reggiochildren.it.

If you come from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Singapore, please contact the Reggio Children International Network representatives: http://www.reggiochildren.it/network/?lang=en

“Teachers must leave behind an isolated, silent mode of working, which leaves no traces. Instead, they must discover ways to communicate and document the children’s evolving experiences at school, they must prepare the steady flow of quality information targeted to parents but appreciated by children and teachers.”

Loris Malaguzzi

Loris Malaguzzi (1920–1994) Graduated in pedagogy and psychology and in 1963 began collaborative work with the local administration to open the first municipally run preschools.

In 1971 infant-toddler centres were added to this network of educational services that Malaguzzi – working closely with colleagues – ran for many years. He was an untiring promoter of innovative pedagogy capable of giving value to that legacy of potentials he loved to call “the hundred languages of children”.