Thursday and Friday, September 24-25, the city of Västerås will host the Nordic network days for preschool. The theme is More than words – language and communication as keys to social belonging and play. At the same time, the partnership with twin towns is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
For two intense days, Västerås becomes the place for exchanging experiences among 160 educators working in preschools in the Nordic twin cities Akureyri, Lahti, Randers, Västerås and Ålesund.
– The twinning partnership has been ongoing since 2001, and this year we are celebrating the 25th anniversary. We are doing that with a very exciting and interesting program, says Anna-Maria Barnelius, principal, Children and Education Department.
The keynote speaker on Thursday is Karolina Larsson, speech and language pathologist and doctor in medical science, Lund University and Department of Research and Development, Municipality of Halmstad. Karolina will talk about ‘More than words – Interaction, play and learning in the language environments of preschool’. On Friday, Oscar Björk, PhD in Didactics from Mälardalen University, will give a lecture on ‘Listening otherwise – on children’s meaning-making in preschool’.
Network Days also offers ten different shareshops on Thursday, where all twin cities contribute leaders.
On Friday morning, the participants will visit 14 preschools in Västerås, both municipal and private, to exchange experiences.
We warmly welcome all participants to Västerås!
For the Nordic steering group
Anna-Maria Barnelius and Monika Löving Nilssen
Norsamby 