News

Marking International Roma Day with the CHAVORE Quest

This year, we are marking the day with the launch of the CHAVORE Quest, an interactive, multilingual experience available in five CHAVORE languages. The Quest introduces a new way of supporting children’s mental health, well-being, and inclusion inviting users to explore, reflect, and learn through a more playful and participatory format.

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-…

Step By Step Macedonia use Facebook to inspire young readers

Sweet Dr. Citko, a character created and designed by Step By Step Macedonia, has been the public face of a viral Facebook Campaign to advise adults on how to encourage the children in their lives to have healthier reading habits. As part of the…

ISSA Conference Call for Proposals NOW OPEN

As ISSA prepares for the 2017 Conference: Local Responses, Global Advances: Towards Competent Early Childhood System, we are reaching out to practitioners, academics and other professionals to submit a proposal to present their work at our event.…

Member in Focus with Step by Step center for Quality Education in Slovenia: "We link Research and Practice"

Jerneja Jager, is the head of the Step by Step Center for Quality in Education, ISSA’s founding member from Slovenia. At just 34 Jerneja is the youngest Head of Department of the Educational Research Institute in Ljubljana. She told us about…

ISSA seeks Consultants to map the setting of young children in refugee camps in Greece/ DEADLINE EXTENDED

February 28, 2017

ISSA seeks to hire consultants to assist the Secretariat by informing the process of developing Early Childhood Development programs in refugee camps in Greece; deadline March 15th, 2017. TERMS OF REFERENCE I. Background The International Step by…

ISSA delivers expert training on Resource Modules for Home Visitors in Turkmenistan

February 22, 2017

Following up on the successful collaboration between ISSA and UNICEF in the development of the Resource Modules for Home Visitors, ISSA’s Senior Program Manager, Zorica Trikic and Karen Whittaker from the University of Central Lancashire, travelled…

Review of ISSA’s 2016 Peer Learning Activities

February 16, 2017

Each year, ISSA’s supports and facilitates numerous Peer Learning Activities (PLAs) exclusively for our members. As a learning community, ISSA believes that providing this service is core to our values and beliefs. Working together to put high-…

New Translations of ISSA's Quality Framework

January 13, 2017

“Quality is not act. It is a habit.” ~Aristotle Following the successful publication of ISSA's Quality Framework for Early Childhood Practices in Services for Children under Three Years Old during 2016, we have undertaken to make this work available…

ISSA Member in Bosnia Herzegovina Launches Annual Teaching Award

December 19, 2016

The Center for Educational Initiatives Step by Step in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH), has launched a national Annual teaching award aimed at promoting innovative and high-quality preschool, primary and secondary school teachers, with special focus on…

Empowering civil society: 11 Peer Learning Activities organized in 2016

December 19, 2016

ISSA’s Peer Learning Activities (PLAs) offer a unique opportunity for ISSA members to learn from each other experiences, grow their knowledge and strengthen ISSA as a learning community. Each year ISSA members can apply for funding and organize…

ISSA Members - the Power of Partnership

December 14, 2016

During 2015, ISSA undertook a period of strategic planning; a look ahead to the future and how to become a broader network functioning in more countries to deliver high quality early childhood services. Since January this 2016, ISSA has worked with…

Joint statement: Remove systemic barriers to tackle the Roma public health emergency

November 29, 2016

Europe is facing a Roma public health emergency: We, the undersigned organisations are extremely concerned about the alarming health situation of the Roma[1] in Europe and the lack of awareness and actions concerning their situation. It is…

Happy fathers equal happy children

November 25, 2016

Not so long ago we were amazed when a cover of The Economist was linked to one of the key articles titled: How to make a good teacher. This week, The Guardian and the BBC News astonished us by reporting on a study on how children benefit from loving…