The REYN (Romani Early Years Network) Italy project was launched this spring to support professionals and paraprofessionals working closely with the Roma community and Roma children in early childhood development.

With the support of the Open Society Foundations, in May 2016 the REYN Italy project was officially presented in Turin.
The REYN is already an active project at the international level, internationally promoting the importance of quality services for Roma children and their families through Roma and non-Roma professionals.

There are other existing networks with the same initiative around Europe, such as in Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ireland. The new national network is dedicated to further improve the professionalism of professionals and paraprofessionals in the field of early childhood development of Roma children.

Active support

The goal is to help the participants through trainings with practical materials to achieve improvement in the early childhood sector. It is important to share best practices and approaches to advocacy work.

Concerning education policy, implementation of a more inclusive and non-discriminatory system is absolutely essential, guaranteeing the right to education to all children.

Frequently, the international network organizes workshops and study visits in certain countries to allow members of REYN Italy from different backgrounds to meet and learn about other realities and best practices.

Project activities

The project is coordinated by the Italian association 21 Luglio. The direct beneficiaries are Roma children in the age group from birth to 10 years old. National mapping organizations, institutions, associations and individuals working in the field of early childhood as part of the network will participate in the meetings and practical trainings.

Primary school teachers are trained on the subject of multilingualism, while Roma women with children aged from birth to 8 years are trained to strengthen their parenting skills. Furthermore, there is an advocacy group organizing a round table on the topic of the early childhood of Roma.

Participate!

The professionals and paraprofessionals working in the early childhood sector, working closely with Roma children and their families are invited to join the REYN Italy network.

More information on the international network REYN is available here or on their Facebook page. If you also work in this area, or know someone who might be interested, you can sign up for free to the network by sending an email to reynitalia@21luglio.org