SA Ambassador to Italy, Ambassador Thenjiwe Mtintso;
Town Councillor for Education, Ms Luna Sassi;
Honourable Ministers;
Reps of the Province, Region and Municipality;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen.
Allow me once more to convey our warmest gratitude to our hosts and organisers for making us part of the 40th Anniversary of the first Municipal crèche in Reggio Emilia. Being here really affords me a strong sense of belonging.
This morning I had an opportunity to thank the Municipality and People of Reggio Emilia as well as Italy’s solidarity movement for all you have done for us during the bitter struggle we fought against apartheid rule.
We did triumph, with international support, and true to our word, we did lay the foundation for an inclusive, united, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous society. Our challenge as with the rest of the world is to end the historical gender injustice that has condemned millions of women to lives of wretchedness and deprived the world of the infinite riches that should accrue from the full participation of women in the global economy.
We will forever cherish the unbreakable ties binding us together, symbolised among other treasures, by the honour you had extended to the Mrs Albertina Sisulu and former leader and president of the African National Congress (ANC), Mr Oliver Tambo.
Thank you for granting honorary citizenship of Reggio Emilia to Mrs Sisulu. And all thanks to you for extending the Freedom of the Commune di Reggio nell’Emilia to OR Tambo.
In June last year, I spoke with esteemed delegates at the Reggio Children Conference on Early Childhood Learning, at St. Mary’s in Johannesburg, South Africa. Now I am able to visit the real Reggio Emilia in less than one year. ‘Thank you so much for making this possible.’ Back then I challenged participants to look closely at the approach we were taking.
They were to say if the method could benefit mostly historically disadvantaged and poor children in our country. The context of that exploration was the lack of resources for improving quality of learning given the debilitating backlog of the past we still grappling to resolve, with limited resources.
I have been asked to share with you the role of toddler’s educational services and the role of women. I am extremely humbled to be asked to reflect on these issues in the presence of this distinguished audience. You have gathered many years of experience the development of specific and potent approaches to the education of young children.
Your approach is bearing fruit, and most importantly, it has been driven primarily by women. This is something that says to us why we had to celebrate the achievements of women as we did with the rest of humanity on International Women’s Day.
Early Childhood Development is fundamental for laying a solid foundation for lifelong learning. It constitutes the formative phase at which nothing can be left to chance. It is the very critical stage wherein exists potential to ‘make or break’ the inheritors of our future – the children.
Francis Xavier, a Catholic Jesuit priest, missionary saint, and apostle to India in the 16th Century once said: “Give me the children until they are seven and anyone may have them afterwards.” There are many such examples in history. There is no dispute that what happens to children in the early years is critical to what happens later. St Francis Xavier’s statement gives credence to the matter of the role of toddler’s education. It says why this 40th Anniversary is fundamental.
Congratulations to the school for coming this far. We wish you well and many more anniversaries for the good of the nation and, by extension, for the good of the world. In anniversary celebrations we come to appreciate the great strides we have made and get to have the opportunity to renew our commitments and vows. South Africa is filled with a mood of celebration as we mark this year the Centenary of the oldest liberation movement in Africa – the African National Congress.
There is enough evidence that points to the value of educational experiences for young children. South Africa has steadily increased access to early childhood education, with benefits thereof beginning to trickle into the educational system. This indeed shows the value of investing in those early years. I am moved by the way in which you ensure that the programme offered in your toddler centres enjoys support of communities.
This is a message we are trying to drive home back in South Africa, to say to stakeholders and partners that education is a societal issue. Government cannot do it alone. Historically, in South Africa municipalities had provided opportunities for young children at crèches, but this had been primarily done in the exclusion of the majority of African children in line with segregationist policies of the past.
Since our liberation in 1994 we have improved the situation for all children and particularly black children. In 1998, we had about 120 000 children in our pre-school year, Grade R. As we speak, we now have more than 800 000 children in Grade R. We still have a big challenge regarding the quality of our service and access for toddlers to a quality programme.
I am extremely interested in following up on the introduction we received in South Africa on the Reggio Emilia approach, particularly on the involvement of the municipality.
We can intensify bonds across the waters so that we can make a difference to the lives of children both in Reggio and in South Africa!
Indeed we were spot-on when we initiated this reflection back in 2011, in Johannesburg.
A book edited by Lesley Abbott and Cathy Nutbrown on a visit by the United Kingdom to Reggio Emilia, sheds more light on three areas I found to be very interesting.
These are:
Firstly, your piazza is central to the life of the crèche. And this I really loved! We will certainly look at how we can encourage our centres to include a piazza in order for us to have an environment of learning throughout the day.
Secondly, your teachers spend a significant part of their time planning. I believe if we were to spent such amount of time planning we would be able to improve greatly our learner outcomes, something we’re prioritizing. You have given us the arsenal to show and say why teachers must plan properly; and why they must really know what they must do with and for the children.
Thirdly, you have cooperative teaching. We have been grappling with cooperative learning but the idea of teachers working in teams is very exciting and one that I will certainly take home.
These three issues I will certainly like to engage more closely with you. Some of you are probably saying, ‘but Minister, what about our approach?’ I couldn’t resist reflecting on some of the key issues that I would like to investigate and see how we can improve our own provision in South Africa using some of the lessons learnt by ourselves as well as others who have been here.
As I have said, one of the hallmarks of your approach, community involvement, is close to my heart. I know that the community is not only women, but I also know that the majority of the community involved in education, worldwide, is women.In 2001 we conducted the first audit of Early Childhood Development (ECD) services and found that 99% of all practitioners working with children below school-going age were women.
We have drafted a development plan on which we are currently engaging communities. It is on the importance of the “first 1000 days” of a child’s life. We share the view that from conception to about two years of age the experiences that a child has either enhance development or stunt development.
Of course all members of the human race, including men, play an important role in the life of the young. Our understanding is that the construction of communities free from women’s oppression and gender inequality must necessarily be built by all of us, working together to create a better world.
One of the global challenges that we have is that women in Early Childhood Education are not protected in the workplace.I took an interest last week in a global dialogue organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva entitled: “Global Dialogue Forum on Conditions of Personnel in Early Childhood Education”.
Among the topics discussed were: the importance of early childhood education and key trends; issues and policies determining access and quality; initial training and professional development of educators; early childhood education employment terms and conditions; and social dialogue in early childhood education.
Recommendations from that dialogue will contribute towards the development of a framework for action by constituents and the ILO for practitioners in ECD. We believe this initiative will contribute to the development of the sector, and that of women working in crèches, ECD centres and early learning institutions.
Lastly, I would like to once again to thank you for inviting us and for selflessly sharing your thoughts, cognizant of the fact that we have a lot to learn from each other. I look forward to engaging with you and setting up a network of practitioners in South Africa with you so that we can share experiences.
I know there will be another Reggio conference in South Africa this year and that occasion will further cement our ties.
We wish you a successful and memorable 40th Anniversary.
Long live Reggio Emilia!
Grazie
