The World Forum Foundation is a \n organizations where Early Childhood Professionals and Researchers from around the world can share ideas and discuss trend and topics within the field. There are members in over 80 countries around the world who meet both regionally and at a world conference.
The foundation is a host to many projects. One project that is interesting to me is the Working Group on Play. The group was started in 2009 and is comprised of 16 people from 10 different countries. The group meets to discuss four basic areas:explaining play, the influence of schools and home life on play, the influence of media and corporate cultures on play, and the role of gender and diversity on play. Play is vital to learning and the group supports each other is this thought.
I've always been intrigued by how much a child can learn through play and was very happy to know that this is a topic being discusses by professionals around the world. I intend to contact the forum and find out how I can become involved with this working group.
For more information about the World Forum Foundation, I invite you to visit their website
http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
International Contacts and Resources
The World Forum Foundation's mission is to link international professionals and advocates in the early childhood field to share ideas and support each others goals of providing quality care to children around the world. The forum meets every 2 years, early childhood professionals from over 80 countries attend the world conference. Regionally professionals meet to discuss specific issues within the field.
Via the pod casts I was introduced to two very interesting women. While we are all professionals in the early childhood field, what we do is very different. Deevia Bhana is professional/researcher in South Africa. She has based her research on the sexuality of young children. South Africa is plagued with HIV and AIDS and children are very much at risk. Deevia is proposing that the education system should reach out to the children and teach them to be comfortable with their sexuality. She believes that this is the first step in understanding sex and it's risks and consequences. Being a mother of a young girl I feel conflicted about this thought. While I want to make sure that my daughter feels comfortable coming to me with questions about sex I'm not sure preschool is the time to start talking about sexuality. I am very interested in continuing to attempt a correspondence with Deevia and learning more about her research.
Mayson Chehab is a professional in Lebanon. Mayson working with children and families at an NGO Arab research collector. Her work in Lebanon is helping children and families after the stress of war. The most recent war in Lebanon lasted 33 days and destructed near all of the schools. This, of course led to much stress for the young children who had once felt so safe inside their schools. I am so glad i chose to listen to the Maysoun's interview because it really put into perspective for me the troubles and stresses that children in other parts of the world have to deal with. It made me stop and think about how lucky I am to be the Director of a school where I am never in fear for my safety or the safety of my staff or children. I am looking forward to continuing to follow and learn more about the work that Maysoun does in Lebenon.
Via the pod casts I was introduced to two very interesting women. While we are all professionals in the early childhood field, what we do is very different. Deevia Bhana is professional/researcher in South Africa. She has based her research on the sexuality of young children. South Africa is plagued with HIV and AIDS and children are very much at risk. Deevia is proposing that the education system should reach out to the children and teach them to be comfortable with their sexuality. She believes that this is the first step in understanding sex and it's risks and consequences. Being a mother of a young girl I feel conflicted about this thought. While I want to make sure that my daughter feels comfortable coming to me with questions about sex I'm not sure preschool is the time to start talking about sexuality. I am very interested in continuing to attempt a correspondence with Deevia and learning more about her research.
Mayson Chehab is a professional in Lebanon. Mayson working with children and families at an NGO Arab research collector. Her work in Lebanon is helping children and families after the stress of war. The most recent war in Lebanon lasted 33 days and destructed near all of the schools. This, of course led to much stress for the young children who had once felt so safe inside their schools. I am so glad i chose to listen to the Maysoun's interview because it really put into perspective for me the troubles and stresses that children in other parts of the world have to deal with. It made me stop and think about how lucky I am to be the Director of a school where I am never in fear for my safety or the safety of my staff or children. I am looking forward to continuing to follow and learn more about the work that Maysoun does in Lebenon.
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