News

Dear ISSA Community, 2025 was not a year of business as usual. It was a year of movement and change. Across countries, systems, and ways of working. ISSA has always worked for long-term, systems-level change. In 2025, that…

ISSA Member NGO Labor and Health Social Initiatives (LHSI) recently conducted a training workshop titled “TOY4Participation Approach. Children’s Participation Practices: From the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to Everyday Work.” The event…

Save the Date: ISSA Conference 2026! You’re invited! Join us in Lisbon for a global gathering dedicated to strengthening integrated early childhood systems that place every child’s wellbeing at the centre.  Co-hosted by ISSA and the Learning…

ISSA Program Manager Ayça Alaylı spoke to Dr Jan Peeters about how democratic values can be strengthened in early childhood settings, and why this work matters amid growing social and political pressures across Europe. 🎥 Listen to the…

In 2024, the TOY for Inclusion Play Hubs continued to demonstrate the power of inclusive, community-based spaces where children and families can play, learn, and grow together. Across eight European countries, nearly 9,000 children and more than 5,…

Across France, early childhood services face growing needs, uneven access, and increasing pressure on families and professionals. ISSA Member Ensemble pour la Petite Enfance (EPE) is responding with a clear direction: put quality,…

Date: November 26, 2025 Time: 14.00 - 16.00 CET Explore the Compendium here: https://issa.nl/compendium/ecdinemergencies/ In recent years, ISSA members have responded to overlapping crises — from pandemics and displacement to natural disasters…

Developed jointly by UNICEF ECARO and the International Step by Step Association (ISSA), the Supporting Families for Nurturing Care: Training Resource Package for Home Visiting Practices is now available on UNICEF’s…

This global effort connects local voices to global action, with the goal of ensuring that every child has access to quality early childhood development, care, and preschool education — vital for holistic child development and lifelong…

Last month, the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) gathered leaders from governments, UN agencies, international financing institutions, civil society, philanthropy, the private sector, and academia in New York. For the…

An Interview with ICDI on Reimagining Voice, Choice, and Democracy in the Early Years What does democracy look like for a toddler? That question sits at the heart of the new TOY for Participation Toolkit—a practical, thoughtful, and…

Today, we are excited to unveil the brand identity for the ECOS Institute — Early Childhood, One System. ECOS is about connection. It’s where people, knowledge, and practice come together to strengthen early childhood systems so every young…

This week a Training of Trainers course is being held in Zagreb, Croatia, as part of TOY4Participation, — a project funded by the European Commission and led by ICDI, focused on embedding meaningful child participation at the heart of early…

The CHAVORE Initiative aims to ensure the mental and physical well-being of  every child, regardless of their background, from the very start. In communities where children face adversity, stigma, or exclusion, CHAVORE supports early childhood…

The CHAVORE Initiative aims to ensure the mental and physical well-being of  every child, regardless of their background, from the very start. In communities where children face adversity, stigma, or exclusion, CHAVORE supports early childhood…

The CHAVORE Initiative: Mental Well-being of Young Roma Children, funded by the European Commission Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV, works across Europe to promote the mental health and well-being of young children,…

74% of fathers believe they share caregiving equally with their partners. Only 51% of mothers agree.  This discrepancy sits at the heart of the State of Southern European Fathers 2024 report, launched on June 4 during a webinar hosted by…

A Mother from Italy Shares Her Perspective from Inside the TOY for Participation Project When I first came across the term child participation, I felt a tangle of emotions: curiosity, confusion, even a little shame, alongside an…

Stepping Into a New Era for Early Childhood   Join a Locally Rooted, Regionally Connected and Globally Relevant Movement In September, ISSA will launch an early childhood institute — a vibrant destination where early…

Making Space for Children's Voices Doesn't Mean Giving Up Yours As the concept of child participation gains traction in education, health, and social work as well as among parents, so do the misunderstandings. For many adults, whether…

The foundations of democracy are not built in parliaments, but in classrooms, playgrounds, and family homes. In today’s increasingly polarized world, nurturing democratic values from the earliest years is essential.  During a recent ISSA…

A Preschool Teacher in Slovakia Reflects on What Child Participation Really means in Practice When I first came across the concept of child participation, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, and even felt slightly defensive in…

Understanding a rights-based, relational approach to listening to young children Even if you’ve never heard the term child participation, chances are, you’ve already practiced it. Whether you’re a parent giving your child choices about their…

We are excited to share updates from the Erasmus+ project “Soft Skills for High Quality Education”, led by ISSA Member Institute of Educational Sciences (ERI) in Slovenia. Running from November 2023 to July 2026, the project brings together ISSA…