Bright Ideas
Working Forum on Design and Nature Coming This Spring
November 25, 2014
This spring, the World Forum Foundation's Global Collaborative OnDesign and Nature Action Collaborative for Children will be hosting the first-ever Working Forum on Design and Nature: Designing Inspiring and Effective Spaces for Children. The World Forum Foundation brings global leaders in early childhood care and education together in World Forum gatherings every several years. Between these larger forums, Working Forums are held around the world to bring early childhood professionals together to address specific issues in the field.
This Working Forum will be the first of its kind, organized by two World Forum working groups: the Global Collaborative OnDesign and the Nature Action Collaborative for Children (NACC). The forum will be held March 11-14 in Rotorua, New Zealand.
Natural Start director Christy Merrick sits on the NACC leadership team as a North American representative. “We are committed to supporting the World Forum’s work through the Nature Action Collaborative for Children because it is the only global voice for bringing nature into the lives of young children all across the planet.” Indeed, it’s this global perspective that she thinks makes the group so unique, and valuable. “This is our opportunity to learn about how professionals are addressing some of the same challenges we face here in North America, and also to learn about the wonderful advances and opportunities that exist in other parts of the world.”
This hands-on event will be focused on how to design effective spaces for children that promote connections to nature. The work will be organized around four principles:
- Collaboration—why the voices of the architect, landscape architect, educator and child must all be part of the design process.
- Respecting the context of space and place in the design process.
- The importance of the connection between inside and outside spaces in the design process.
- The importance of the intention for the space (the pedagogy) in guiding the design process.
This the most broadly collaborative Working Forum ever. And, in true World Forum style, throughout the Working Forum, there will be a focus on valuing and celebrating our differences, cultivating a spirit of collaboration and playfulness, deepening relationships with one another, and above all, keeping children at the heart of all we do.
Click here to learn more and to register.