International Conference on Early Childhood & Education
2023 Bright Start International Conference
Voices of Children International Project: Making Children’s Voices Heard
”’When there was a war, you would see some bad soldiers, they were just so angry and mad, they looked very big, they liked to shoot with their guns, because they didn’t want people to stay……On the other side of this paper, the sky was blue, there were butterflies, there was a flower with a green tree, I called it a good world, a good world is like Australia…” Octavia, Age 5, KU Bradfield Park, Australia
Little People…Big Voices
Building on an international project established by the University of Wollongong in Australia (Brown et al., 2010), the Voices of Children project invited for the first time children aged 3-6 from across the world to submit and exhibit their art in both a virtual gallery exhibition, and a gallery exhibition at the Foundation of the Hellenic World in Athens, Greece, to coincide with the 2022 Bright Start International conference. The online gallery features 300 artworks and 294 children’s messages.
‘I wonder about a big sun helping things grow, & the trees caring for the birds. Ruby, Age 5, Bomaderry Community Preschool, Australia
Voices of Children Advisory Council:
- Dr Gai Lindsay, University of Wollongong, Australia
- Honorary Prof Ian Brown, University of Wollongong, Australia
- Dr. Eirini Gkouskou, Department of Learning & Leadership IOE, UCL’S Faculty of Education and Society, University College London, United Kingdom
- Prof Mari MORI, Ed.D., Kobe Shinwa University, Japan
- Pete Moorhouse FRSA, CF, Early Years Creative Consultant, Researcher, Author, Artist Educator, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- Caroline Wright, Director of Early Childhood, Bright Horizons, United Kingdom
Voices of Children Mission Statement
Children can and should influence the world around them. Through art children are empowered to share what is special about their lives, producing and creating individual and unique responses to share with other children across the world.
Making Children’s Voices Heard
The Voices of Children project aims to enable young children from across the world to capture moments in time, highlight their creativity, share their art and tell the world what is special to them. Specifically, the project aims to honour children’s voices by:
- collaborating with early childhood teachers & parents to promote awareness of the arts and children’s voices
- highlighting the importance and benefits of early arts and creative learning experiences for children and families
- provide platforms to value and share the voices and ideas of children
- support young children to become globally aware
- help children to share visual expressions about their own contexts, cultures and response to the world around them.
The most important goal of the project is to create a platform where children’s ideas and thinking would be made visible and where 3–6-year-old children around the world would be listened to and valued as world citizens. Take a look at our 2022 Voices of Children International Project Report
The 2022 Voices project involved over 1500 children in 12 countries. Thanks to all of the children, families, teachers and educators involved throughout the 2022 Voices of Children Project
” Our children were over the moon to see their artwork in the gallery, and they were excited to share the exhibition to their friends and families ”, educator from Australia
“This was my Covid experience. It’s the virus remade so that people know how it can look like. I want people to know so they can be aware of it… Frederick (6), The Gap Club, United Kingdom
“This machine cleans the air. The wire is the electricity, and it reaches far up into the sky and brings the air down into the machine….” Andrew (Age 4), Bizzy B’s Preschool, Ireland
Call For Participation in the 2023 Voices of Children Online Galleries & In-Person Exhibitions Around the World
2023 THEME: DIVERSITY – EQUITY – INCLUSION – BELONGING
Offerings for participating preschools & early years settings:
- Guidelines with the Step by step process for the submission of artworks & children’s messages;
- (20) Children’s Artworks & messages/per center, selected by the educators, will be displayed on the 2023 Voices of Children online Gallery;
- Opportunity to host the 2023 Voices of Children Gallery Exhibition in your center/preschool and share with parents and the local community (in November/December 2023);
- Opportunity for the teams of early childhood educators from each center or preschool who will be involved in the project, to submit a Case Study. Case studies will be included in the 1st Voices of Children Journal ‘’Honouring the Voices of Children’’: Stories of pedagogical reflection and documentation. Selected Case Studies will be also presented during the 2023 Bright Start Conference in November;
- Acknowledgements in the 2023 Voices of Children Final Report that will be published in December 2023 and will include: names of preschools/early years settings & educators who participated in the project (name & brief bio)
Interested in Participating?
Please complete & submit the Expression of Interest Form below:
Project Supporters
To view the 2022 Voices of Children Galleries follow the links below:
