TOY for Inclusion
Considerations for the Salvation Army:
The TOY for Inclusion project is a good example of how creativity and inclusive thinking can create avenues for improving the situation of Roma. TSA can utilize these ideas in its own work and seek partnerships to expand its reach.
A European project boosting community-based early childhood development called "TOY for Inclusion" promotes the active involvement of Romani and non-Romani communities in ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) through the development of toy libraries and intergenerational learning.
International Step-by Step Association (ISSA) and International Child Development Initiatives (ICDI) organised an event at the European Parliament to present some outcomes of the project. The European Affairs office attended an event in which the TOY for Inclusion partner organizations, and ISSA Members, from Open Academy Step by Step (Croatia), Association 21 July (Italy), Partners Hungary Foundation (Hungary), Step by Step Centre for Quality in Education (Slovenia), Skola dokoran – Wide Open School n. O. (Slovakia), along with Akromfed from Turkey shared their experiences in a panel discussion. These included the centrality of the collaboration of different services to better serve the needs of young children and families; the importance of unstructured play in the lives and development of these children; and, the power of relationships between services and families built on trust and respect for diversity.
The TOY for Inclusion Play Hubs organize play-based activities designed to help children develop necessary skills and knowledge for formal education. ISSA’s Aljosa Rudas, coordinator of the Romani Early Years Network, shared that TOY for Inclusion Play Hubs represent an important meeting point of cultures, languages and religions. They are a place where Roma and non-Roma children and families feel welcome and appreciated. This in a context where only 50% of Roma children in Europe have access to education. Play Hubs are a bridge for them to a better future.
The Salvation Army has a concrete link to this project, as in the Netherlands Leger des Heils is involved as an associate partner in the existing project of TOY.
To learn more about the project go to www.toy4inclusion.eu.
Tags: Europe