Ann Åberg began by giving a glimpse of what one of the afternoon's many speakers later referred to as her "winding road." A journey that began with a feeling of boredom in a job that seemed to consist of nothing but repetition, but soon turned into a passion for exciting exploration together with children, colleagues, research, parents... Where they developed what five-year-old Filip put into words to Ann twenty years ago:

You need to have very good hearing.

The importance of hearing, which many then brought up in different ways in their speeches to Ann Åberg. About how this enables children to be in constant development and to be researchers of life, where Ann set this boat in motion, as Professor Emerita Gunilla Dahlberg mentioned, and Professor Ann-Merete Otterstad from Oslo University College said to this "honorary doctor" that they have now made hearing strength a verb.

Greger Rösnes, CEO of the Reggio Emilia Institute, spoke about how he and the institute feel proud and somewhat involved in Ann Åberg's honorary doctorate, for all the years of collaboration, which have led to hundreds of lectures but also countless courses in educational documentation, and in addition the institute's teacher training program, where Ann is part of the course management team. As Greger pointed out:

You're good at turning up the volume on educators!

Harold Göthson, former director of the Reggio Emilia Institute, agreed with many of the apt epithets used to describe today's honoree, such as:

The Hyven honorary knight. The foremost among equals.

Ann also wrote a bestseller for educators, similar to Sven Lindqvist's Gräv där du står (Dig Where You Stand). It was a book that many people returned to. Karin Alnervik, associate professor in Örebro, also contacted both Ann Åberg and her co-author Hillevi Lenz Taguchi, professor at Stockholm University, to discuss how unique it is in many ways:

Just think what a book you wrote! Theory and practice combined.

Anna Palmer, associate professor of preschool education, pointed out, as did several other speakers, the value of Ann not only sharing her success stories but also her mistakes – and truly sharing her craftsmanship. Such practical examples are particularly significant for the Department of Child and Youth Studies, where Ann has lectured for fifteen years, but also for her appointment as a doctor:

Finally, those of us who work in preschool have received recognition. It's about time!

Also because, as Anna Palmer said:

The pedagogy of listening and negotiation is more important today than ever before.

Something that her colleague Ingela Elfström, who was one of the first to obtain a doctorate in preschool didactics in Stockholm, also emphasized: the importance of listening radically to children in an increasingly complex everyday life.

Nina Odegard from Norway, who recently defended her thesis entitled "Aesthetic Explorations with Recycled Materials," also participated by drawing attention to nature and materials in the pedagogy of listening:

If I were a stone in Ann Åberg's world, I would be a friend!

Lena Aronsson, senior lecturer at Stockholm University, who moderated the chat throughout the afternoon so that all participants could offer praise, questions, and comments, pointed out in her own speech that Ann's listening is not about discarding the old, but about finding a new way of understanding the familiar.

The hours passed quickly. But before the final fanfare, champagne, and cheers, Professor Hillevi Lenz Taguchi, who has followed Ann Åberg since they began writing Lyssnandets pedagogik (The Pedagogy of Listening) together more than fifteen years ago, and who introduced all the speakers during the afternoon, also spoke. Among other things, Hillevi emphasized the importance of daring to challenge one's fear of being a teacher in the right way, to:

Dare to use your own intellect.

Regarding the book Lyssnandets pedagogik (The Pedagogy of Listening), which has become such an important book for so many people working in preschools in both Sweden and Norway, Ann Åberg finally revealed the role that her family's laundry room played in its creation, explaining that it was thanks to this room that she was able to have a "room of her own" for her writing.

While waiting for the real laurel wreath—and doctoral ring—at Stockholm City Hall in the fall, Ann Åberg received a temporary wreath and a bouquet of flowers after a day that offered many reflections on her winding path of listening, which has also meant so much to so many others. But as Ann Åberg pointed out, what matters now is to be present and attentive:

We must listen to the children we have here and now – but also to the times we live in here and now.

Text: Maria Herngren, editor of Modern Barndom, who also had the privilege of serving as master of ceremonies during the afternoon.

Image: Hillevi Lenz Taguchi