Full address to the REANZ Annual Meeting by Federico Ruozzi, the President of the Preschools and Infant-toddler Centres - Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia.

It's a great pleasure to have the opportunity to address your assembly, even if only through this recorded message. I would like to share just a few brief reflections on issues that are particularly close to my heart, both as a Professor of History and the President of the Institution for Infant-Toddler Center’s and Preschool’s of the city of Reggio Emilia. 

At a time when governments are busy reclaiming old borders and building new ones, this connection stands as a proof that when we talk about education, there are no barriers, there are no nationalism, there are only the right of children for a democratic society. As president, I believe this work is of the utmost importance, and I believe it's even more crucial today in this period of political, cultural, and social crisis that we are experiencing. 

I would like to read you an excerpt from the regulation for Infant centre’s and preschool’s of the municipality of Reggio Emilia, which captures a principle that remains central to the everyday life of our school here in Reggio. I quote, “education is the right of all children, and as such, it's a responsibility of the entire community. Education is an opportunity for personal and collective growth and emancipation. It's a resource for knowledge and for living together. It's a space where freedom, democracy, solidarity, and the promotion of peace are practiced. Within the diversity of cultural, political, and religious perspectives, education thrives on listening, dialogue, and participation. It's committed to respecting and valuing the unique identities, skills, and knowledge that each individual carries, and thus qualifies itself as secular, open to discussion, and oriented toward cooperation”.  

Some people describe Reggio Emilia's zero to six system as a kind of happy island, and I actually find that a bit offensive to our school and early childhood centres, to our pedagogistas, and even to our local administration. Because, as Jerome Bruner said, if you really want to understand this city and its educational experience, you can't forget that the Reggio spirit didn't appear overnight. It's what he called a long spirit. It comes from far back, as we also had the opportunity to explain to the Princess of Wales during her recent visit to our school here. It's rooted in the idea that public early childhood education is a force for emancipation. That's why here in Reggio it was possible to create, as early as in 1912, the very first preschool run by a local public authority, meant to support women's emancipation and working mothers. At the same time, a whole series of grassroots initiatives emerged, family-run preschools, alongside forward-looking administrators who, even without a national law, established municipal preschools and integrated them into the urban development of new neighbourhoods. These are choices our administration has continued to make, and for that we are grateful. 

Throughout all this, families have always been part of the story, often anticipating political decisions and pushing the administration forward. This participatory origin is at the root of our experience. It's a story that keeps evolving, it's not static, but participation remains a very strong dimension. Processes of listening, which are not always easy, become the seed of democratic practice and of coherence between the educational project and the broader civic project. And the Reggio Emilia approach is not based on a single individual, it's a virtuous system, a collective dimension born from the daily work of many people. Behind the Reggio Emilia approach lies the idea of co-construction and participatory research, a visible sign of democratic maturity and of the role education plays in forming conscious, active citizens. We must remember that at the heart of all this are the public schools, where everything begins. It's a fundamental aspect, this. One cannot speak about school in abstract terms, as so many journalists and a good portion of the media tend to do, offering simplistic solutions to complex educational issues and often portraying new generations in a negative light. 

As a historian, I can't stand the phrase, back in my day, school was better. And I believe it's essential to visit schools, to see how they work, to experience their spaces firsthand. At the heart of all this is research. As a university professor, I want to emphasize this way. While universities are traditional centres of research, research also happens every day within our schools. For meaningful research to take place, continuous professional learning is essential, a responsibility we ask of all our teachers and staff. When you teach, you have to ask yourself why you do it. And teaching is about being radical. When we deal with education, we have to be radical. There's no room for compromise, I think. We have to take a stand, to take a position. 

There are things that, as teachers and educators, we simply cannot accept. There are pillars we must defend. Public education, education as a path to emancipation, the school as a place that includes and teaches inclusion, that fosters dialogue, that works to uproot prejudice. And we try to teach how to take an interest in others, how to be curious. We try to sow the culture of peace. Peace is not a permanent achievement, as we are unfortunately seeing. It's a result that must be continually nurtured. 

To sustain peace, one must believe in peace and the schools are fundamental in this process. The answer to social inequalities, the answer to emancipation, the answer to those who believe there are intelligent children and less intelligent ones, has always been the same. More school for everyone and this is why the Reggio Emilia approach can also offer a powerful message for primary and secondary schools. A message that puts students and their rights at the centre, and reminds us that there are places where learning can truly be a joy. And we have to do this together.

The Istituzione together with Reggio Children, together with you. Because you are a vital part of the Reggio Emilia approach. Because you bring different perspectives, you bring different visions, you bring different challenges. And together, we don't just look for an answer, but we create new questions. So thank you again for inviting me, and good work everyone for your General Assembly. Bye.