Dear friends and colleagues,

In this issue of the Newsletter we would like to take you on a trip around the globe, from the perspective of a Waldorf early childhood educator. You can find reports on conferences (in Japan, Romania, Dornach, Colombia and Costa Rica), further training (in Ukraine), work in country associations (India and Cezch Republic) and impressive descriptions of the joys and challenges involved in founding new Waldorf kindergartens (in Turkey and the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon).

Waldorf kindergartens are not islands - they are deeply woven into the political and social conditions of our times. This issue offers three short reports where you can read about the US government's expectation that five-year-olds can read and the EU ministry's recommendation to its member countries to support digital competence in early childhood education. What can we do? Several articles offer a response: we need to really look at the essential foundations of Waldorf education and - as a colleague from Turkey mentions - not lose our sense of humor!

Warm greetings on behalf of the IASWECE Coordinating Group!

Philipp Reubke