After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.
– Philip Pullman, English writer

Contributed by Nancy Rosenow, retired CEO of Dimensions Foundation and former Publisher of Exchange Press.

The Early Childhood Wisdom Initiative is a group of people with many years of experience in the early care and education field who have come together for the purpose of nurturing the next generation of ECE professionals by providing information, support and inspiration through personal stories. As group member Pam Boulton explained, “One of the things that distinguishes this group from others of our ages, is that every person here is constantly interested in learning. I think there are a lot of people in certain age groups who just look backwards and say, ‘This is what I did.’ But I think every one of us is looking backward and asking ‘What did I learn?’ And looking forward to say, ‘What am I learning now? And what am I doing with that?’” Pam recommends the book, Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story by Christina Baldwin.

Recently group members have been telling their stories every few months in the World Forum Foundation’s WoFo Global Café, hosted by Bonnie and Roger Neugebauer. Conversations have focused on topics such as “Finding Joy in Our Work,” and “Building On Our Strengths.”

The next conversation will focus on “Risk Taking.” If you’d like to hear from and/or join in the conversation with people who’ve learned from experience about the value of taking appropriate risks in our work, plan to join WoFo Global Café online, October 16, 2024 at 11 am Eastern Time.

Luis Hernandez will serve as moderator.