EDUCAS project was presented to a broad international audience during the ISSA Connects Week in December 2020. The session gained the attention of 87 people from around the world. Participants included a wide range of professionals such as teachers, head of trainings, program directors or global leads on early childhood education, and either from local, national or international organisations.

During the online interactive session  ‘I like it here, it feels like a second home’: The role of ECEC spaces in joining education and care , partners from the EDUCAS Project from Belgium, Italy, Lithuania shared lessons learned and insights concerning the role of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) spaces in promoting an ‘educare’ approach (education and care as intertwined). 

The partners from the three countries, after providing the overview of the project,  engaged with participants in small groups on the following themes:

• Listening to children’s voices when (re)thinking ECEC spaces within an ‘educare’ approach - Italian partner, UNIPR Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries of the University of Parma (Italy), and PROGES ECEC centres shared with participants children’s perspective of ECEC spaces
• Sharing meanings with families: how focus groups with parents and professionals support ECEC services in (re)organizing spaces taking ‘educare’ into account - Partners from Lithuania, UIC Center for Innovative Education (ISSA Member) and ECEC Centers, Vaikystes Sodas and Aukštelkės mokykla-daugiafunkcis centras shared their experiences on parental involvement
• ‘Each picture tells a story’: Reflecting on ‘educare’ and spaces through pedagogical documentation in Belgium – Partners from Belgium VBJK (Center for Innovation in the Early Years) - ISSA Member, and ECEC centers De Tandem and Hippo’s Hof discussed with participants about reflective approach to professional development

The EDUCAS project aims to create ECEC environments that holistically support children’s development, taking into account the diverse perspectives of people involved in the process (children, parents, and professionals).