Carlina: I miss you. We miss you.

Caption: To the left a portrait av Carla Rinaldi, pictured to the right is Reggio Emilia Institute's CEO Greger Rösnes, Carla Rinaldi and chairman of Reggio Emilia Institute's board Anna Söderström Ahrborn in Reggio Emilia december 2024. 

Carla Rinaldi, despite a brief illness, continued working tirelessly until the afternoon before she passed away on Wednesday, April 16.

My grief is shared by everyone connected to the Reggio Emilia Institute and with friends worldwide. Those of us who were close to her fondly called her "Carlina"—"little Carla." I had the privilege of knowing her for more than thirty years, and as our friendship grew over time, she began calling me “Haroldino.”

Here, I want to honor an extraordinary person and dear friend who seamlessly blended her remarkable professional legacy with her personal life. Carlina saw many around her as part of a large, extended family. Her relentless commitment to love and connection shaped both her thoughts and the words she shared.

Carlina was the very first pedagogista to work alongside Loris Malaguzzi, the visionary founder of the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy. Together with many others, they transformed the preschools of Reggio Emilia, promoting the idea of education as a core democratic right—a right to participate and help build a more inclusive, civic-minded society. The preschools in Reggio Emilia became not just spaces for learning but tools for fostering democracy. This approach has inspired educators, artists, researchers, policymakers, and families worldwide. At the very heart of this work lay a powerful vision: that pedagogy could serve to meet society’s democratic needs.

Carlina: I miss you. We miss you.

As Vea Vecchi often reminded Swedish audiences, this vision was rooted in the creative "hundred languages" philosophy and the unique atelier culture of Reggio Emilia—where art and expression play a key role in learning.

Just as Vea embodied the ideal of what an atelierista could achieve, Carlina symbolized what a pedagogista could bring to collaboration: nurturing new ideas between educators, atelieristi, and children. Together, they pushed the boundaries of pedagogy, always exploring how to live and express democratic values in educational contexts. Carlina elegantly articulated this in her conversations with Professors Gunilla Dahlberg and Peter Moss, captured in their book “In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia” (published by Routledge). These ideas remain central to Reggio Emilia’s approach to curriculum.

Ten days before her passing, Carlina participated in what would be her final engagement abroad. The gathering, organized in Västerås, Sweden, brought together members of the Reggio Emilia Institute for conversations, workshops, and decisions about their vision for the future. During this trip, Carlina also met with Birgitta Kennedy and Sonja Lundmark, two that had succeeded me as chairs of the Institute.

Although visibly affected by her illness, her intellect remained as sharp as ever. She reflected deeply on the challenges facing Reggio Emilia-inspired educators globally: the need to "look forward with nostalgia for the future."

It feels symbolic that her last international journey brought her to Sweden and to the Reggio Emilia Institute, a country and organization with immense personal significance. Sweden was not just a professional connection for Carlina; it was personal, too. It was in Sweden where she met her partner, Karl-Hugo, and where she found joy and peace in Öland, among his family and their community. Carlina also shared early friendship with Anna Barsotti - with her husband Carlo - who were among us founders of the Reggio Emilia Institute.

At the Västerås event—planned by the institute’s chair, Anna Ahrborn, and CEO Greger Rösnes—Carlina was asked why the manifesto they were developing emphasized "the right to quality in education," given how challenging it is to define the concept of quality. She replied with her characteristic clarity: "Quality is not a fixed concept. It is a continuous effort—an ongoing exploration of what it can and should mean, always guided by an understanding of democratic values in context."

From this perspective, I was fortunate to contribute to the drafting of a shared manifesto (charter) and an ethical comfor pass for future collaborations and initiatives, particularly the research and development fund, for which Carlina became honorary chair at the start of 2025. This work will continue to guide us in the years ahead.

Carlina often reminded us that values, too, are not static. They must be re-examined and negotiated through concrete projects. However, these chosen values remain foundational.
In her contribution to the book “Making Learning Visible,” Carlina outlined key values that served as a guide:
• The value of every individual’s voice
• The value of the nuances and differences in those voices
• The value of creating participation through negotiation
• The value of civic learning, enriched through the "hundred languages" of expression and perspective

To me, these remain the guiding principles of our work, though Carlina identified many others—not least the essential value of play as an integral part of learning. Her deep understanding of philosophy and political history of ideas shaped these reflections. As a postpragmatist she argued that theory must be connected to practice . This created her intellectual curiosity that first led her to become a pedagogista and to work alongside Loris Malaguzzi.

This permeated the discussion that the Institute's board fortunately had with Carlina in Västerås - possible to hear at Reggio Emilia Institute's new podcast.

Her brilliance was recognized globally. In 2015,Carlina was awarded the Danish LEGO® Prize, following in the footsteps of Malaguzzi himself. Since then, she fostered a close partnership with the LEGO Foundation.

When Malaguzzi passed away in 1994, Carlina stepped in as one of his successors and later assumed leadership of the organization Reggio Children. Malaguzzi’s vision was to make Reggio Emilia "a harbor where ideas and inspirations from all over the world could meet and exchange." Over the years, Carlina worked tirelessly to uphold—and expand—this vision, championing the idea that no child in Reggio Emilia could thrive if children elsewhere in the world were suffering.

In 2011, when Mayor Graziano Delrio established the nonprofit Fondazione Reggio Children Centro Loris Malaguzzi to complement the globally oriented Reggio Children organization, Carlina became its natural choice as chairperson. Since then, I have had the honor of serving on the foundation’s board, representing an international perspective alongside Margie Cooper from NAREA (the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance).

Under Carlina’s leadership, the Fondazione took Reggio Emilia’s preschool philosophy and expanded it into countless new projects for individuals aged 0 to 99. These included partnerships with major organizations such as Fare Scuola and international doctoral programs like “Reggio Emilia’s Childhoods.” One prominent example was the collaborative P.E.R. project with the LEGO Foundation, which hosted conferences in cities around the world. Just a week after her return from Sweden, another conference took place in Boulder, Colorado. Unfortunately, Carlina could only participate online due to her health. Ever-forward looking, she even guided the relocation of the Remida reuse center into a repurposed factory - Caffari - in Santa Croce during her final months.

Carlina’s last days were deeply tied to working for life and the future. When the news of her passing was announced, condolences flooded in from notable figures and ordinary admirers alike. Media outlets across Reggio Emilia and Italy commemorated her extraordinary legacy.

On Good Friday, Carlina was laid to rest as honorary chair of the Foundation and as one of the city’s most cherished citizens. At the formal tribute in Sala Tricolore, Mayor Marco Massari, flanked by his predecessors, led the ceremony. Hundreds gathered to pay their respects, filing past her coffin in gratitude. Outside the hall, those unable to fit inside watched the proceedings on large screens in Piazza Trampolini.

I thank the new chair Francesco Profumo of the foundation for his wonderful and profound writings expressimg both gratitude to and challenges, we orphans, now have to face to honor an extraordinary person, Carla Rinaldi.

To me, Carlina was not just a loss of a close friend and collaborator but also a beacon of what Reggio Emilia represents: a call to nurture the fragility of democratic citizenship and to fight for a kind of education that fosters true democracy. Her voice will resonate through the work she leaves behind.

Farewell, Carlina: I miss you! We miss you!

Harold Göthson

Stockholm, April 21, 2025

Harold Göthson is of the founders and former leader of the Reggio Emilia Institute. Since 2011, board member of Fondazione Reggio Children Centro Loris Malaguzzi