Reggio Emilia

City in northern Italy, part of the region and province with the same name. Reggio Emilia also refers to pedagogical movement born in 1945 in this same place. Just after the Second World War, a group of mothers - war widows in their majority - decided to raise money through the sale of abandoned military equipment to build schools for their children. These were meant to be nests where girls could receive an education that remedied the traumas of war. The entire community contributed to their construction. The role of women is crucial here. It was this group which had greater weight in the construction of schools and the education of children with great dedication and commitment. At first, the schools did not have institutional protection, being regarded as "oppositions" to the private and Catholic school system prevailing in the region. Finally, in 1963 the first secular school for children of 3-6 years opens with municipal support. The number has increased exponentially until today. The pedagogical approach of Reggio Emilia drinks from the influences of the New School, considering the child as the centre of the educational event. Loris Malaguzzi has been a great partner since the beginning of the project with its pedagogical proposal by which he understands the child as a being rich in latent potentialities that the educator must fuel. For further information. Childhood’s education in Reggio Emilia book. Loris Malaguzzi. Octaedro, 2001.