TOY FOR INCLUSION: 117 PROFESSIONALS TRAINED IN 2017

TOY for Inclusion aims to support the integration of Romani children, families and the older generations in their communities. We are proud to announce that over 110 professionals in 6 countries have been trained in the first project year.

Throughout 2017, TOY for Inclusion worked with local communities to prepare community-based facilities called play hubs. Play hubs are safe spaces where people of different generations and cultures can meet, play and learn.

The project has trained 117 professionals in 6 EU countries: Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

PARTICIPANTS HAVE LEARNED HOW TO:

• organize inclusive activities involving young children of all backgrounds, their families and older adults
• address the needs of Romani children who enter formal education
• support parents’ competences in the first years of their child’s life
• challenge discrimination against the very young and older adults as well as against children and families from ethnic minorities, migrant backgrounds or living in difficult circumstances

The training was based on the TOY Toolkit, developed by  International Child Development Initiatives (ICDI) and the International Step by Step Association (ISSA). The toolkit, which will be online in early 2018, is structured around four main pillars: community-based early childhood education and care (ECEC); integrated services for children and their families; the Together Old and Young – TOY Program; diversity, equity and inclusion in ECEC.

The training sessions were attended by Roma and non-Roma who are involved in early childhood education or work with children on a daily basis. They include: school and preschool teachers, social workers and local authorities.

These people have been organized into groups called the Local Action Teams (LAT) and will be responsible for setting up and running the TOY for Inclusion play hubs for children and families in 2018.

Read more about TOY for Inclusion and its play hubs here.