NEWS FROM TURKEY: O.M.E.P.

LOUISE GILBERT REPORTS THE WORLD ORGANIZATION FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (O.M.E.P) 2023 CONFERENCE IN TURKEY.

Anadulo University in Eskisehir, Turkey, was the venue for the World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) 2023 conference.

I was delighted to be invited to give one of the keynote presentations, by Professor Serap Erdogan, Lead of the Turkish Preschool Education Development Association, Chairperson of the OMEP National Committee, and also an ECUK Practitioner Trainer.

The conference focus was on “Children and Childhood Intercultural Perspectives” allowing many interesting themes from around the globe to be explored, discussed, and debated by the attending students, lecturers, practitioners, specialists and researchers.

I spoke about Emotion Coaching and how emotions matter to learning. As we all live in socially constructed worlds, and our common need to feel seen and safe, soothed and secure, EC is a way to support all children’s wellbeing and learning regardless of borders. EC marries our current critical understanding of interpersonal research with practitioner and parent expertise to create a powerful practical tool that is adaptable to the needs of any nation.

Although, my trip was short - and fascinating and rewarding - we were able to squeeze in visits to a local kindergarten and community project to see ways of supporting learning through relational approaches and creative resources.

The shared passion and drive of practitioners working with children, and particularly those rebuilding childhoods in Turkey after the devastating earthquakes, was palpable and contagious.

Thank you to Serap and her colleagues for their generosity and their contributions to the Emotion Coaching journey.