The EDUFIRST project did the first learning activity in Milano in May 2024. We all had the opportunity to deeply understand and learn from the powerful model of 0-3 and 3-6 ECEC services in the city and the long tradition on early childhood care and education.

https://www.comune.milano.it/en/aree-tematiche/pnrr-fondi-europei-e-nazionali/progetti-ue/edufirst

The second learning activity of the EDUFIRST project was hold by IMEB Barcelona city council. For three days, we meet and learn from a powerful innovative model that is exploring new dimensions of ECEC services such as the community engagement or the climate justice approach.

https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/educacio/es/actualidad-y-recursos/noticias/el-proyecto-europeo-edufirst-ha-visitado-la-ciudad-de-barcelona-1413285

The third and last learning visit was to the City of Tampere. During 3 days, we learn a lot about the Finnish ECEC services model, practices, institutions, debates… The universality of ECEC services based on the subjective right of each 0-7 years-old children to have good care and education is something that contrast with the southern countries reality. Here you are a nice video-abstract of the learning visit. https://dreambroker.com/channel/eue1fd7z/anhgmyvp

Between May and July 2025, the European project EDUFIRST (Early Childhood Education and Care Services for Inclusion, Rights and Sustainability) organised a series of participatory workshops in the cities of Barcelona, Vic, Milan and Tampere, with the aim of designing new early childhood care services and improving existing ones.

A total of 154 early childhood education professionals participated in these workshops: 51 in Barcelona, 33 in Vic, 47 in Tampere and 23 in Milan. The workshops were structured into various sessions aimed at educators, service directors, families and policy makers, using a common methodology based on collective reflection and the design of innovative proposals.

Key challenges

The debates addressed key challenges for early childhood education and care services (ECEC), such as universal access (especially during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life), growing diversity and inequalities between children and their families, the new meanings of the concept of ‘quality’ in services, the lack of educational staff, and the need for more useful and participatory assessments, in addition to other aspects such as the lack of connection and dialogue between the political, institutional, and pedagogical spheres.

In this sense, one of the objectives of the workshops was also to imagine a European self-assessment tool to improve the quality of services from within, taking into account that the present and future functions of ECEC services are care, education, family reconciliation, the reduction of inequalities, and social and linguistic inclusion, among others. The conclusions drawn will be used to draw up concrete proposals for European municipalities, in line with the objectives of the EU Child Guarantee.

These workshops have been carried out within the framework of the EDUFIRST project, funded by the Erasmus+ programme and coordinated by the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), with Jordi Collet as principal investigator. In addition to UVic-UCC, the Municipal Institute of Education of Barcelona, the city of Milan (Italy) and the city of Tampere (Finland) are also participating in this project.

News: https://www.uvic.cat/noticies/el-projecte-edufirst-impulsa-tallers-participatius-a-barcelona-vic-mila-i-tampere-per