TOY Newsletter #26

Issue nr. 26 - 24/04/2023

This week (24 – 30 April)) is Global Intergenerational Week. Find out about how you can participate in many of the week's events. In this newsletter, you can also discover how Play Hubs support child refugees from the war in Ukraine as part of the TOY for Inclusion project. We also feature the latest TOY blog which is about the important role grandmothers play in children’s lives in Uganda.

Latest News

Be part of Global IG Week 24-30 April 2023

Global Intergenerational Week is an annual campaign celebrating all things intergenerational. The campaign looks to inspire individuals, groups, organisations, local/national government, and NGOs to fully embrace intergenerational practice, connecting people of different generations in intentional, mutually beneficial activities. It provides an opportunity to share and discuss, on a global platform, creative and effective new ways of connecting generations. Find out more about the events here.

The role of story in strengthening intergenerational bonds

To mark Global Intergenerational Week Hibernia College in Ireland is hosting a Webinar on Thursday 27th April, 18.00 - 19.00 UTC+1 about the role of story in strengthening intergenerational bonds in primary education. During the Webinar, Margaret Kernan and Fíona Mc Ardle will discuss story-focussed IG initiatives in the Netherlands and Ireland that connect primary schools with community. Register in advance for this Webinar.

For more information click here.

Children’s book club celebrating IG relations

Ireland’s national radio and TV station, RTÉ is also putting story and intergenerational connections in the spotlight this month in its RTÉ Jr Book Club. Read some fabulous book reviews of stories which celebrate children’s relationships with older adults. The reviews are written by Juliette Saumande, a children's book writer.

GWT International Conference puts the spotlight on IG quality indicators

The recent Generations Working Together (GWT) Conference was truly international, with 140 delegates from eight different countries Australia, United States, Norway, Spain, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. The day included workshops, conversations on the couch, talking tables, and an information village crammed with stalls from other inspiring organisations, and opportunities for networking.

The overarching topic of the day was around intergenerational quality indicators, what these may look like and how they can be embedded into practice, to enable those working at the grassroots level to develop quality intergenerational learning opportunities. Further work on this will follow from these conversations.

Workshop presentations from the day can be found here.

GWT also awarded their Excellence Awards during the conference and videos from the Winners can be found at:

Publications

Play for Inclusion - a new handbook for practitioners working with refugee children and caregivers

Children make up half of all refugees from the war in Ukraine. The TOY for Inclusion approach is gaining recognition as an effective way to support the integration and inclusion of Ukrainian children and families fleeing from the war, as well as a powerful non formal education model for vulnerable children in general. ICDI is happy to share the ‘Play for Inclusion’ Handbook, a new resource for practitioners who work in non-formal early childhood education and care (ECEC) services supporting refugee children and their caregivers.

Read more about the expansion Play Hubs to Slovakia, Hungary, Czech and Poland here and in this blog published by ISSA - International Step by Step Association..

The Ugandan Grandmothers Programme

Due to a variety of circumstances, grandmothers become the sole carers for their grandchildren. This happens across the globe and often goes unrecognised by governments despite the critical roles these women play in children’s lives. Read the latest TOY blog by Carmel Gallagher and Jostas Mwebembezi, which describes the achievements of the The Ugandan Grandmothers programme (UGP) since 2019.

In further TOY blogs we would like to share inspirational stories about IG initiatives from countries and contexts that haven’t received attention on TOY website to date. If you know of an interesting IG initiative that you would like to share its story, please contact us.

Upcoming Events

Coastal Childhoods International Conference, Norway

The preliminary programme for the Coastal Childhoods Conference is now available! Conference themes include: Coastal childhoods and relations across generations; Knowledge, work and education in transition; Valuing the blue? Well-being and sense of belonging; Sustaining and ‘living’ the blue’.

The Conference is hosted by the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning, NTNU and NTNU Oceans and takes place in Trondheim, Norway on 15-16 June 2023. To find out more about the programme, the keynote speakers and how to register click here.

Contacts

On the TOY website we commit to provide current and ground-making news, research and developments about the world of intergenerational learning involving young children and older adults. If you have a news item you would like to share with us, please contact us at:

International Child Development Initatives- ICDI

Margaret Kernan and Giulia Cortellesi

info@toyproject.net

www.toyproject.net