NAREA/Summer Conference/News

Since 2004, Graziano Delrio has been the mayor of Reggio Emilia, Italy, where he was born in 1960. He graduated from medical school with a specialization in endocrinology, and also studied in the United Kingdom and Israel. As professor and researcher at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Mayor Delrio authored an important scientific publication that has brought him to the United States and Europe as a lecturer. Before his involvement in politics, he was active with voluntary service, and also founded and directed the Giorgio la Pira Association. Mayor Delrio has also promoted many initiatives dedicated to peace among people. In1999, he was nominated as municipal counsellor and in 2000, Mayor Delrio was elected to the Regional Board and became not only president of the Health and Social Politics Commission for Emilia Romagna Region but also member of the Environment and Territory Commission. In 2004, he was elected mayor from the centre-left party and in 2009, he was confirmed for his second mandate. Mayor Delrio is also vice president of ANCI, the Association of Italian Municipalities, and is responsible for public administration employees. Major issues during both his mandates were and are community and people. The first mandate was characterized by the idea of "Reggio Emilia, a collective good. For a serene, safe and united town." During these first five years, the municipal administration used its symbol jointly with that of the "Town of people." The slogan of the second mandate in a moment of global economic crisis is "Strong community, safe future." The principle issues of this mandate are education, knowledge and innovation as the basis for a more international development of our town.Mayor Delrio is married to Annamaria, and has a beautiful family with nine sons and daughters.

In 1970, Carla graduated from the University of Bologna with a degree in Pedagogy. Beginning in 1971, she worked as a pedagogista with the municipal infant-toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia and, subsequently, as pedagogical director and director. She retired from the municipal program in 1999. Since 1994, Carla has worked as a pedagogical consultant for Reggio Children, following the supervision of all Reggio Children initiatives. In this capacity, she is responsible for research projects carried out in conjunction with such universities such as Harvard University, the University of New Hampshire and the University of Milan. Carla is currently president of Reggio Children. She is also professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Faculty of Education and has held the post of vice president of the Gruppo Nazionale Nidi-Infanzia (National Early Childhood Association). Carla has been a speaker at numerous seminars and conferences in Italy as well as in Europe, the United States and Asia. Recently, she is particularly involved in ongoing professional development initiatives and research projects with the Northern European countries. Carla is co-author of various books on the Reggio Emilia municipal infant-toddler centers and preschools, such as The Hundred Languages of Children exhibit catalog, The Fountains, Children, Spaces, Relations: Metaproject for an Environment for Young Children, In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia and many others. She coordinated the publication of the book Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners, published by Reggio Children and Harvard University Project Zero. Carla has written a number of articles published both in Italy and abroad for books and educational journals.