Our team from the Nacional University of Ecuador (UNAE) had a most interest visit with the Swedish Reggio Emilia Institutet, where we met with Harold Göthson and Åsa Hejdenberg. We discussed possible partnerships between our work and the Reggio Emilia Institutet, and more broadly the Reggio Emilia Network. Reggio Emilia Institutet is situated in a lovely Italian-style Villa and has been refurbished to have a modern and welcoming style. Harold and Åsa presented an in-depth description of the Swedish context of early childhood education, the work Reggio Emilia Institutet does, and discussed close collaborators such as Reggio Children and Red Solare.
Shodona Kettle, Specialist in Fundraising of the Nacional University of Ecuador, and I presented the project of the school being created in conjunction with the Nacional University of Education of Ecuador. We described the innovative pedagogical model that we seek to apply, explained that, while not endorsing only one educational philosophy, we take a lot from, and are inspired by, the Reggio Emilia experience. Lastly, we presented the school’s architectural plans drafted by local Ecuadorean architects as well as the Italian architect Sebastiano Longaretti.
Harold and Åsa responded with relevant and valuable observations, in terms of the pedagogical practices that we are seeking and the planned architectonic structure. In addition, they recommended that we get in touch with Reggio Children and Red Solare Ecuador to establish a collaboration. We are also considering the possibility to organise a meeting in Ecuador with Harold in April.
Pensieri di Bea 