Italian Cultural Center Network
Username: IL Centro-Guest | Password: Italy011
Simon Fraser University | Harbour Centre Network
Account ID: LW6512 | Password: B9pu94TT
Welcome Letter
We welcome you, in person, to the 3rd NAREA Fall Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, “Possibilities and Complexities: Reconnecting, Reimagining, Relaunching.”
We recognize Vancouver as the traditional territory of the Coast Salish, Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. The Coast Salish people call this place their ancestral home, and their history, traditions, and spiritual ethos intertwine in the host city’s cultural foundation. We wish to highlight our belief in and commitment to the value of embracing history, identity, and cultural diversity and differences as essential aspects of personal and professional development. We honor and encourage each program and every group of colleagues to invest in an ongoing approach that includes permanent study, research, collaboration, innovation, transparency, and exchange.
Since last summer, we have had the privilege of offering many professional development opportunities with wonderful hosts: The 13th NAREA Winter Conference – Livestream, the Fundamentals of the Reggio Emilia Approach fall and spring webinar series, and the 18th NAREA Summer Conference in Atlanta, Georgia with the presence of two exhibitions from Reggio Emilia, Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material and Bordercrossings: Encounters with Living Things / Digital Landscapes. These experiences energize us as we continue bringing
educators together to sustain and strengthen all those interested in Reggio Emilia’s experiences and ongoing research. We hope this initiative serves as a rich and significant contribution to your continuous professional development and provides educational nourishment as you return to your home contexts to live daily with children, families, and co-educators.
With great pleasure and deep gratitude, we welcome our colleagues Mirella Ruozzi, Massimo (Max) Ghirardi, and Jane McCall. Their openness in sharing the experiences of children and adults in Reggio Emilia and desire for exchange is indicative of the principles and values of the Reggio Emilia Approach. We wish to extend our thanks to the Vancouver Reggio Association, the Vancouver host community, and all those who collaborated and supported the conference’s planning. The Vancouver Reggio-inspired community has a long history of advancing the educational formation of teachers through the ongoing study of the Reggio Emilia Approach. Their work motivates others to unite and envision new possibilities in early childhood education and beyond.
Please enjoy the delight of thinking together as we connect, imagine, and move forward to create an enhanced future for all children, families, and educators.
With nostalgia for the future,
NAREA Board and Staff
Featured Speakers
From 1975 to 2016, Mirella Ruozzi was an atelierista with the Preschools and Infant-toddler Centers – Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. She was also the atelierista of the Ada Gobetti Municipal Infant-toddler Center and the Ernesto Balducci Municipal Preschool. In addition, Mirella has collaborated with the Genoeffa Cervi, Peter Pan, Luigi Bellelli, Gianni Rodari, and Pablo Picasso municipal infant-toddler centers in Reggio Emilia.
In 2001, Mirella began curating projects on research, professional development, and more in-depth investigation at the Gianni Rodari Theatre Workshop through the Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centers – Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. She has collaborated on and curated several educational and professional learning projects for the Istituzione. Mirella collaborates with Reggio Children on exhibitions, ateliers, publishing projects, and professional development courses by participating in seminars and workshops in Italy and overseas. She completed her art school diploma course in ceramics at the Gaetano Chierici Art School in Reggio Emilia in 1972 and the professional exam to qualify as a teacher of arts education in middle schools in 1973.
Since 1992, Massimo has worked as an atelierista for the Infant-toddler Centers and Preschools – Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. He currently works on professional development and research projects with the Reggio Children – Loris Malaguzzi Center Foundation, the Remida Creative Recycling Center of Reggio Emilia, and the Department of Education at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia as well as with other public and private institutions in Italy and abroad.
Massimo contributes articles related to research and professional development in the area of art and creativity to art history and education journals, with particular reference to children’s drawing, art education, and the use of found and recycled materials. He has conducted training courses on these subjects in Italy and abroad. Born in Parma in 1968, Massimo received diplomas in graphic arts and applied arts from the Paolo Toschi State Art Institute in his native city. An illustrator, graphic artist, and calligrapher, his works can be found in public and private collections in Italy, France, Spain, and Canada, and he is well-known as a heraldic designer specializing in civic heraldry. After residing for 40 years in Sala Baganza (province of Parma), Massimo has lived in Sesso, a village in the province of Reggio Emilia, since 2010.
Jane McCall has worked as a freelance interpreter and translator for Reggio Children for over 20 years. She has interpreted for Reggio educators at international study groups in Reggio Emilia, Italy, as well as at conferences with Reggio speakers in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, South Africa, and China. In addition, Jane translated Loris Malaguzzi’s writings and speeches in Loris Malaguzzi and the Schools of Reggio Emilia: A Selection of His Writings and Speeches, 1945–1993. She also translated Vea Vecchi’s writings in Art and Creativity in Reggio Emilia: Exploring the Role and Potential of Ateliers in Early Childhood Education.
Ateliers
Atelier Session 1 | Friday
(CAPACITY OF 35)
Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material Exhibition and Atelier
Facilitated by Gabriela Garcia | Italian Cultural Centre, Il Museo
Since the beginning of time humans have left their mark in the world. From ancient cave drawings to famous works of art, mark-making expresses thinking. Drawing and telling stories means imagining, analyzing, and exploring spaces, forms, colors, words, metaphors, emotions, rhythms, and pauses, entering into a narrative dimension that is both internal and external to the self, playing on reality, fiction, and interpretations. This atelier provides educators with opportunities to encounter mark-making materials in a hands-on encounter inspired by the educators in Reggio Emilia.
Atelier Session 2 | Saturday
(CAPACITY OF 20)
Black and White Palette
Facilitated by Kristi Reinhardt & Jessica Vailes | Simon Fraser University, Harbour Centre, Xerox Conference Room 1500
Defining forms and methods of communication helps us to choose what we observe with greater awareness. We wonder: What relationships are established between the drawing instruments and the supports? By designing contexts within an established palette, we can focus on what each material affords. In this session, participants will choose and explore materials within a defined palette of black, white, and gray materials while discovering connections and confronting the unforeseen.
Atelier Session 3 | Saturday
(CAPACITY OF 20)
Natural Materials
Facilitated by Kym Cook | Simon Fraser University, Harbour Centre, Tree Island Room 1510
This session will be intentionally rich in natural materials that leave marks and materials that receive marks, placing attention on the experiences that ensue. As teachers of young children, we have many questions that arise as we design and prepare contexts for young children. This session will be a time for exploration, experimentation, dialogue, and reflection around the contexts we offer young children that give value to their competencies.
Atelier Session 4 | Saturday
(CAPACITY OF 25)
Chromatic Palette
Facilitated by Gabriela Garcia | Simon Fraser University, Harbour Centre, Westcoast Energy Executive Room 2250
Since the beginning of time humans have left their mark in the world. From ancient cave drawings to famous works of art, mark-making expresses thinking. Drawing and telling stories means imagining, analyzing, and exploring spaces, forms, colors, words, metaphors, emotions, rhythms, and pauses, entering into a narrative dimension that is both internal and external to the self, playing on reality, fiction, and interpretations. This atelier provides educators with opportunities to encounter mark-making materials in a hands-on encounter inspired by the educators in Reggio Emilia.
is a studio educator at Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool in Atlanta, Georgia and is in her 18th year with Project Infinity. She has been working in the early childhood education field for over 26 years. Kym studied art and education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the University of Montana. The experiences of motherhood and teaching have kept her world full of color and three study tours in Reggio Emilia raised that to technicolor. Once Kym had those opportunities and saw firsthand how the educators in Reggio Emilia truly honor young children’s thinking, the way she teaches has changed forever. In her free time, she is a fine jewelry ceramic artist.
is a strong advocate for the rights of young children and is passionate about the Reggio Emilia Approach. She is a founding member of Project Infinity and the founding director of the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool in Atlanta, Georgia where she worked as executive director and pedagogista for 20 years. Originally from Mendoza, Argentina, Gabriela is fluent in Spanish and English. She is currently a program associate at NAREA, supporting professional development partnerships and other NAREA initiatives.
is a studio educator at Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool in Atlanta, Georgia. With 11 years of experience working in a Reggio-inspired school, she brings her love of photography and innovation to the daily life with children and families. Kristi assisted with the Bordercrossings atelier and the Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material atelier at the 2022 NAREA Summer Conference, as well as several community ateliers, in Atlanta. She studied therapeutic recreation, applied behavior analysis, and photography at Indiana University.
has been an educator at Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool since 2001. She first fell in love with the Reggio Emilia Approach to learning when she participated in a Reggio-inspired professional development initiative at one of the original collaborative schools of Project Infinity in 2003. Jessica then became an integral part of the process of Peachtree’s study and transition to a Reggio-inspired preschool. She has participated in NAREA conferences in Tulsa, New York, and Washington, DC, and two study groups in Reggio Emilia. Jessica is an advocate for building children’s love for nature and believes that it is vital to the education of young children.
Save The Dates
Fundamentals
December 2, 16, 21, 2022 | Webinar Series
The 14th NAREA Winter Conference
March 16–18, 2023 | Toronto, Ontario
*Please note: registration for this conference has not yet opened.
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