The 6th NAREA Summer Conference

The North American Reggio Emilia Alliance Board would like to welcome you to “Dialogues for Quality in Education: Our Image of Children, Our Image of Teachers, Our Image of Learning, Our Responsibility” in connection with “The Wonder of Learning – The Hundred Languages of Children” exhibit in Chicago, Illinois.

As the sixth offering in our series, “Dialogues for Quality in Education,” we hope this conference offers a rich and meaningful contribution to your ongoing professional development. Please do not hesitate to let us know how we can make your experience during this conference more comfortable and engaging.

It is with special gratitude that we welcome our colleagues from Reggio Emilia, Carla Rinaldi, Graziano Delrio and Amelia Gambetti, joining us as we endeavor to grow in our thinking and actions on behalf of young children. We welcome their unique experiences and perspectives as educators and administrators in the renowned municipal system of infant-toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. Likewise, we thank our North American colleagues who will be presenting during the conference, as well as Crossroads in Chicago (City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, Chicago Children’s Museum, Chicago Commons and Columbia College Chicago) for hosting the exhibit and this conference.

We wish to highlight our belief in and commitment to the value of diversity and differences as essential aspects of personal and professional development. Recognizing the ever-increasing number of programs for young children inspired by Reggio’s approach to life and education, we honor and encourage each program and every group of colleagues to stay a course that includes permanent study, research, collaboration, innovation, transparency, and exchange. Through our multi-year professional development project attached to the presence of this exhibit in North America, we will encounter a host of schools, at varying points of their own journey, willing to open their doors, expose their work, and welcome the participation of visitors. This style of development has been introduced to all of us by the only “Reggio schools” of Reggio Emilia, Italy. To be continually encouraged to find our own unique identities as schools in different communities worthy in their own right is to see how much the message of Reggio Emilia is based on attitudes of research and invention, rather than prescriptive dogma. For this, we are also grateful.

Please enjoy the pleasure of thinking and wondering as we work together to construct a better future for our children, ourselves, and our communities.