The International Consortium on Nurturing Values and Spirituality in Early Childhood for the Prevention of Violence, created in 2018 by Arigatou International with the participation of 22 partners and individual experts, is engaged in developing a toolkit on the spiritual development of children in the early years to foster their well-being and help prevent violence in child upbringing. The toolkit is aimed for organizations working with religious communities but will also be flexible enough to be used by others interested in the spiritual development of young children. The purpose of the toolkit is to develop capacity and capabilities of organizations, faith leaders, key actors, and community representatives that work with parents and caregivers, teachers and children.
Ms. Maria Lucia Uribe, Director of Arigatou International Geneva, was invited to participate in the panel discussion “Holistic Approaches to Early Child Development and Education”, in the framework of the 64th Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society – CIES 2020, which was converted to virtual format in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the current pandemic impacts the well-being and development of children, Arigatou International, together with the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, ISPCAN, organized a webinar on The Emotional and Spiritual Impact of COVID-19 on Children: Faith and Spiritual Nourishment as Key Factors for the Protection and Resilience of Children.
This webinar, which was held on 23 April 2020, was attended by 370 participants from 71 countries, and it is part of a series of weekly sessions organized by ISPCAN to support professionals that work toward the prevention and treatment of child abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
Arigatou International Geneva conducted three online meetings, to connect with Learning to Live Together International Trainers in the framework of the Covid-19 Pamedmic. The meetings resulted in an action plan to respond to the more pressing needs brought up by this unprecedented sanitary crisis, from the ethics education perspective, and in line with the Faith for Action Global Campaign.
Arigatou International participated in an expert workshop to help validate the #Faith4Rights toolkit, a key piece of the Faith for Rights initiative, led by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) together with faith-based groups to help combat growing hate speech and intolerance.
