On September 12, 2024, the autumn conference of the scientific support of the model project “Encountering Diversity Locally” (WisBeV) took place at the Erfurt University of Applied Sciences. The event was aimed at all specialists in the child day care system, management and specialist advisors in Thuringian kindergartens.
Education Minister Helmut Holter opened the conference with a welcoming speech in which he highlighted the importance of early childhood education. He stressed how important it is to lay the foundation for a successful educational biography in the first years of life and praised the progress made by the “Encountering Diversity Locally” project.
The focus of this year’s conference was on the diverse team processes in kindergartens. Topics such as the arrival of new team members, appreciative and understandable communication, and methods of team development and reflection were dealt with intensively. A particular focus was on the resource-oriented handling of diversity in the team.
In addition to a specialist lecture and an inspiring keynote speech by Olympic bobsleigh champion Mariama Jamanka on teamwork in competitive sport, the conference offered numerous workshops. These invited participants to exchange ideas, share best practices and discuss new ideas.
