On Europe Day, last May 9th, President Von Der Leyen inaugurated 2023 as the European Year of Skills. “Education is not just a preparation for life, but education becomes a way of life” she said.
In this sense, the Diversity+ consortium reiterates its vision: whether at the beginning, middle, or end of one’s career, investing in education isn’t just the right thing to do, but the most forward-thinking choice.
The transitions and macro trends we are experiencing at the national, European and international levels are deeply transforming our world, creating new professional profiles and work models. Yet, only 37% of adults engage in regular training, conceived as re- or up-skilling paths, with great impact on the quality of services.
The concept of quality, introduced by Aristotle, comes from the Latin “qualitas,” deriving from “qualis” (philosophically meaning “of a particular kind”). In general, it refers to attributes defining the essence of an object, idea, event, person… Growing research highlights the socio-economic, educational, and developmental potential of quality services for children’s early years, benefiting society as a whole. The last three years of the Diversity+ project implementation urge this.
As the project coordinator, it brings us immense pride to announce the successful closure of a transformative project.
Over the course of its 3-years, it has made significant strides in promoting diversity inclusion and quality enhancement in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings across Europe.
It fostered the professionalisation of ECEC staff in a view to develop an educational ecosystem where diversity is celebrated and inclusion is a sectoral cornerstone. The concrete means consist in the Diversity+ toolkit, a comprehensive and multilingual Open Educational Resource that encapsulates the project’s main outcomes and achievements in the form of ready to use resources and tool for ECEC school heads and staff.
Furthermore, if not more importantly, it has contributed to building and developing a community of practices made up of hundreds of experts and organizations from the six project countries and beyond, seeking to actively contribute to the development of the ECEC sector, exchanging virtuous practices and tools, and developing joint projects in the months and years to come.
The concrete commitment to the professional development of ECEC staff is the most consistent legacy of the Diversity+ project, and we are proud to pass on the baton to the many initiatives that will celebrate this vision during the current year, and beyond.
Author: CIAPE
English