News

Building a mentoring culture in early childhood education system in Uzbekistan

ISSA Program Director Mihaela Ionescu, PhD, shares about her recent visit to Uzbekistan supporting UNICEF and the Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MOPSE) in developing and delivering the first national mentoring programme for preschool education.

ECWI's first country study released

August 10, 2017

The Early Childhood Workforce Initiative (ECWI), hosted by ISSA and R4D (Results for Development), is a global effort to support practitioners in the field of ECD. Under ECWI, a series of country studies will examine ways to strengthen and scale up…

‘Buna zua! Kum ješć?’ REYN Croatia presents the course for teaching the basics of Beyash language to adults

August 10, 2017

The Romani Early Years Network Croatia offered a course of Beyash language to its members - primarily to educators and other professionals working with Roma children. The course is taught by Romani assistants, Biljana Horvat and Elvis Kralj,…

The Ukrainian Step by Step Foundation and UNICEF deliver training benefitting children in war zones

The Ukrainian Step by Step Foundation (USSF) and UNICEF present the results of their project “Kindergarten – environment friendly to a child”. Over 2500 pedagogues working with children in war zones were trained. War and crisis, led to the…

ISSA member Associazione 21 Luglio writes about how Italy is failing the lives of Roma people

We received a blog post written by ISSA member Associazione 21 Luglio about the tragic death of three Roma sisters in Rome, Italy. Associazione 21 Luglio works daily with Roma people in the Italian capital. Carlo Stasolla, president of Associazione…

Training practitioners and health workers in Serbia

ISSA's Senior Program Manager, Zorica Trikic delivered a training for trainers in Belgrade, Serbia on May 9th-11th, 2017. The seminar was organized in partnership with the Association for Public Health Serbia, the Institute for Public Health…

SOFT Tulip achieves major breakthrough for early intervention in Ukraine

This month’s Member in Focus is Eric Bloemkolk, Director of SOFT Tulip Foundation. SOFT Tulip is a small organization with a huge network. This network includes seven major service providers and 25,000 people. They’ve offered their training services…

Six REYN members at World Forum Foundation event in New Zealand

Since 2004, the World Forum Foundation has been supporting emerging leaders through the Global Leaders for Young Children program. Nearly two hundred emerging leaders from 61 countries have participated so far in the program developing their skills…

In Serbia it’s time to focus on preschool education, the Minister of Education says

The international conference “Key dimensions of the quality development in Early Childhood Education and Care - The Preschool Curriculum Framework” was held in Belgrade on May 23rd. At the opening ceremony, the Minister of Education, science and…

A school for parents in Latvia

ISSA member the Centre for Education Initiatives in Latvia, offers courses on how to become a great parent. Nowadays parents have become more active, motivated and willing to engage in the children's upbringing not only intuitively, but at a semi-…

Macedonian campaign raises awareness about equal access to education for Roma children and parents

Step by Step Foundation for Educational and Cultural Initiatives of Macedonia is organizing an online initiative under a nationwide campaign raising awareness about the importance of equal access to education for Roma children and parents. This…

AFLATOUN conference on early childhood education in the Ukraine

ISSA member AFLATOUN started their early years programme Aflatot to strengthen the early childhood education in Ukraine. The focus on Early Childhood Education in the Ukraine has been growing and improving over the last few years, thanks to the…

Parwaan Pakistan is gearing up youth social entrepreneurship and early childhood care and education

26/04/2017- Parwaan National Centre of Excellence on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) organized an open house event ‘Parwaan Ka Karawaan’ to celebrate the success of its flagship youth social entrepreneurship and early childhood care and…

Investment in the early years highlighted at World Bank roundtable

ISSA Member, Center for Education and Professional Development (CEPD) was represented by Radu Enache, former Managing Director and Administrator of Hewlett Packard Romania, at the Roundtable on Investing in the Early Years: Identifying Synergies and…

International conference: “Early Intervention: from theory to practice” in Russia, registration open

ISSA member, Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences "Biological and Social Foundations of Inclusion" center, is a research and education center based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. They are organizing a flagship event on early…

The Global Philanthropy Forum addresses child development issues

ISSA’s Executive Director Liana Ghent spoke at the Global Philanthropy Forum Conference in Washington DC last week. For the first time, this yearly event featured a strand on the child. Ms. Ghent, spoke during the working group, A Healthy Start: The…

Children’s natural curiosity – the basis for the Children’s International Press Centre: Engaged participation from the home and the classroom to the world around

Children’s vibrant curiosity about the world around them becomes evident – in their exploring fingers and rapt gaze – even before they can speak. Once the words begin to come, questions and observations tumble out at a tempo that adults find hard to…

Romani Early Years: Status Quo 2017 roundtable meeting

06/04/2017 - The Romani Early Years: Status Quo 2017 meeting is a joint event hosted by the Romani Early Years Network, the Forum for Roma Inclusion and the European Public Health Alliance. The meeting will bring together Brussels-based civil…

For Our Children Foundation holds round-table for the creation of national early childhood strategy

For Our Children Foundation’s round-table, entitled “From policies to outcomes – ECD services in the spotlight,” highlighted the main principles for the creation of the first national strategy for Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Bulgaria. The…

Evidence brief from Aflatoun’s Aflatot program highlights the value of playful, meaningful learning

ISSA member Aflatoun’s Aflatot program published an evidence brief in March, which indicates that Aflatot succeeds in improving the socioemotional outcomes for children. The brief underlined the importance of the program, which is founded on the…

ISSA elects new board members

ISSA is proud to welcome five new board members in 2017. In March, Leslie Falconer from the USA, Henriette Heimgaertner from Germany, Elena Misik from the Republic of Macedonia, Jan van Ravens from the Netherlands and Jeroen Aarssen from the…

ISSA seeks a Communications Manager

The International Step by Step Association (ISSA) seeks a skilled communications professional to join the ISSA team in the Child Rights Home, Leiden/The Netherlands as our Communications Manager. This is an exciting opportunity for someone…

Civil society organizations offer input on early education strategy in Romania

UNICEF Romania and Center for Education and Professional Development Step by Step hold the first reunion of the Working Group for Early Childhood Education and Care, which will lead to a national strategy on early education. A study entitled “The…

We are hiring a Communications Intern!

This opening is an exciting opportunity for a communications, media or journalism graduate to gain experience in the nonprofit sector. We are looking for a skilled storyteller who can develop compelling messages that can promote ISSA’s mission and…

Preschool Summer School Supports Syrian Refugees

ISSA Member in Turkey ACEV are supporting Syrian refugee children with their Preschool Summer Schools in Istanbul. Designed to prepare children developmentally and culturally for the Turkish school system, the Summer School aims to ensure that six-…