We have changed the everyday lives of many children in Sweden

September 21, 2016

There is much to say about the Reggio Emilia Institute. This becomes clear when Modern Barndom meets Birgitta Kennedy, who has been its chair for ten years, and Sonja Lundmark, who is now taking over after six years as vice chair, a role that Lovisa Sköldefors will in turn take on. All three have been involved in the work of the Reggio Emilia Institute for many years and therefore have a lot to say about it and how they view the institute's role today and in the future.

“When Harold Göthson stepped down as chairman in 2006, I thought long and hard about how I could replace him, as he had become so synonymous with the institute. The reorganisation we carried out also involved a very big change, so for me it was very much a question of balancing the new limited company with the economic association, and trying to create an organisation that reflected our approach,” says Birgitta Kennedy, as she briefly tries to recap her twelve years on the board, ten of which as chair, while also working as an educationalist at Trollet in Kalmar until she became an educational development manager in Malmö a few years ago.

Our members have always been our strength, of course, but at the same time, a limited company entails a special responsibility. In recent years, we have also seen that we need to broaden our base and bring in more people, so we have started to look into the possibility of forming a non-profit association, because a context like this must be open and broad, explains Birgitta. When asked what has been the most enjoyable part of her years as chair, her answer comes quickly:

– The development projects! That we have managed to earn money that we have been able to invest in practical development. Not all of our projects may have been entirely professional, but they have definitely developed Swedish preschools. And the project concept means that you have to accept that you cannot know everything in advance.

“The Reggio Emilia Institute is not a training institute but a practical development institute, and as such we have really changed everyday life for many children and pupils in Sweden,” continues Birgitta Kennedy, referring to the developments she has seen during her almost forty years in preschool.

When the institute was established, it was in clear opposition to traditional daycare centers, and it gave many of us an opportunity to find colleagues to talk to about our work in a completely different way.

Today, Birgitta Kennedy particularly highlights the institute's new initiative on Sustainable Future as important.

– But here we must dare to address everything as a whole: all new arrivals, segregation, environmental issues. We must dare to be a voice and a practice in all of this, as Stella Nova has long been in Hallonbergen, for example. If we are to build a city studio in Malmö, it should of course be located in Rosengård and not in the city center. I also wish that we could engage in dialogue with more people in the educational sphere, and with other disciplines, just as those in Reggio Emilia have always been transdisciplinary and sought collaboration in various areas.

The train home to Malmö is waiting, but Birgitta has time to share a couple of important thoughts before she has to leave the Reggio Emilia Institute.

Our in-depth study has been and continues to be valuable, but we must also be careful not to become exclusive and exclusionary. We must recognize and appreciate all the small steps that so many educators are taking, because they are the ones who make such a big difference for many children. The contribution of educators is the great strength of the Reggio Emilia approach. Like the meeting with the educators who told us about it themselves in Reggio Emilia. They made a huge impression when we got there, and we have made the same thing possible here. But today, it is mostly educators who give lectures, which I find worrying because we also need those who work in the children's groups. We must take care of the educators.

When the new board meets a few days later in Stockholm, the new chair, Sonja Lundmark, will travel here from Luleå, where she has been commuting to board meetings for many years from her positions as principal and preschool director. Vice chair Lovisa Sköldefors has a much shorter commute, coming from her job as a teacher in Södra Jordbro in Haninge. Sonja begins to talk about how she sees the institute and what a difference it has made.

– Like all important networks, educators reflect much more on their work, both collegially and on the educational processes, and take a greater interest in them. And I think the Reggio Emilia Institute has had a big impact on how we see kids, that today we see them as subjects and not objects, as co-players, and that we adults are too, even if we have more experience and knowledge. Sonja Lundmark also talks about how important all the lectures and training courses have been, especially the weekly seminar in Reggio Emilia.

The fact that I now see so many thorough and significant examples in documentation from various project work also shows that the institute has been very important, that we really are a practical development institute. I am proud of that! And all the rich environments that exist in so many preschools today, adds Lovisa Sköldefors. 

Like Birgitta Kennedy, they also raise the need to broaden and open up the institute to more voices.

"But then we on the board must dare to articulate ourselves, make it clear what we stand for, and express it. Articulate what our various concepts mean," Sonja points out, adding:

Our view of democratic education and collective processes, that we learn and develop in processes with others, is just as important today, not least our mission to contribute to democratic global citizenship. I see our commitment to sustainable development as part of that. And our work in schools! We have been working on this for a long time in preschool. But if we don't succeed in schools, who will?

Other important initiatives today include the exhibition from Reggio Emilia in Italy and the institute's new studio.

"I believe they will help us open up to new encounters, work in different ways, and take new steps. Just like our work on a sustainable future, where we have now begun to gather in different regions," Sonja continues.

For Sonja and Lovisa, as for Birgitta, board work has also meant many fantastic encounters, with both new perspectives and new friends around Sweden, but also in Italy and elsewhere in the world.

"For me, the strong spirit of sharing that exists in this context has meant a great deal, as has the absence of hierarchies, which means you can constantly move between theory and practice, and that things are allowed to change," says Lovisa Sköldefors.

"Our work with processes and constantly being on the move also characterizes our meetings, allowing them to be open and challenging, so that we don't have to agree on everything. I've been able to take that with me to my jobs as well," continues Sonja Lundmark.

“Everything we have learned in our meetings with Reggio Emilia. I am so incredibly grateful that they have shown us their attention to detail, that things must be given time, that we must take children’s voices seriously... and that we now get to be involved and contribute to them, rather than just managing them. Our collaboration with Reggio Emilia has developed in recent years so that we are now more in dialogue with them in a kind of equal exchange, which I appreciate, says Lovisa Sköldefors.

"I feel truly privileged to represent the Reggio Emilia Institute there, but also in relation to other countries," Sonja adds.

“Our collaboration with entire municipalities in recent years has also taught us a great deal, not least about the importance of organization. This is something they have been working on for a long time in Reggio Emilia, but which we have not been able to do in the same way until now,” Lovisa points out.

It's time to wrap things up, and Birgitta Kennedy's closing words about how important educators are and how the Reggio Emilia Institute has made it possible for them to be so tie everything together.

"The Reggio Emilia Institute is truly a practical development institute that has encouraged educators to try new things and see that they can make a difference for children," points out Lovisa Sköldefors.

“Today, educators can reflect on their practice to a greater extent than before. I believe that the institute has played a hugely important role in this regard, as a voice that highlights the value of practice. That’s not to say that we don’t need the in-depth perspectives that theories can add,” says Sonja Lindmark.

Text and image: Maria Herngren