EECERA Narratives Blog Series #3:

1998: My initial encounter with EECERA. I found myself attending the EECERA conference in Santiago de Compostela. Although relatively close to Malta, it took three flights and twelve hours to reach Santiago de Compostela – from noon to midnight for the outbound journey and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the return. I have vivid memories from this first foray: the eerie atmosphere at the former convent, dimly lit by candlelight as I was shown to my monastic room at midnight. Umberto Eco’s Name of the Rose flooded through my mind, and I couldn’t wait for the morning light to find out where on earth I had got to. Then, the emotion of feeling lost in the Early Years crowd gathering at the huge conference centre (thank you, Carmen Dalli, for being the familiar face to look out for), and in contrast, the lovely, warm atmosphere during the Friday evening boat ride, where fresh mussels were served alongside local delicacies.

2001: I was attending the OECD conference in Stockholm when, in conversation with my dear friend and colleague Aline-Wendy Dunlop, she mentioned the preparations she was making for EECERA 2003. She was the Conference Chair, and EECERA was to be held at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Her advice was to speak to Tony Bertram if I were interested in bringing this to Malta. However, I soon realised how word travels very quickly and by the next day, it seemed that the die had been cast: rather than my tracking Tony to inquire further, when we bumped into each other at lunch, his opening statement was, “So, you’re thinking of bringing EECERA to Malta, are you?” He proceeded to provide me with some general information on how EECERA operated at the time, and promised to send me the necessary documentation.

Considering that was also the first time I was speaking to Tony, he made quite an impression. He had a playful way of testing whether I really understood the scale of what I was contemplating — a mixture of humour and seriousness rolled into one. I was somewhat bemused by his directness and somewhat amused at his way of gently urging me to think twice before deciding what I would be letting myself into. I suspect he wanted to ensure I wasn’t going to bite off more than I could chew, but it was clear Tony was keen on following through with a Malta conference.

2004: Organising the EECERA conference in Malta in 2004 brings many happy memories and nostalgia. Sure, the preparations and planning took a good two and a half years, but being in touch with the delegates in the run-up, meeting everyone at registration and putting faces to names, some of whom had become household staples (for various reasons), were some key moments. Meeting people like Christos Frangos, John Bennett, Pamela Oberhuemer, Kathy Sylva and Margaret Carr for a then young, aspiring early years academic was a dream come true.

A lasting impact of the EECERA Malta conference? Undoubtedly, the contacts I had established subsequently led to the joint European Masters degree in ECEC. Once all the anticipation, planning and excitement around organising and hosting EECERA were over, life seemed rather dull and quiet for a brief time.

We applied for EU funding and won a three-year contract (2005–2008) with an obligation to develop the programme in the first two years and start running it in the 3rd year. That programme supported students from Malta, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, Scotland and Norway with a mix of online and face-to-face intensive study units. The success of the first iteration led to an Erasmus Mundus and five editions of this programme meant that collectively, we successfully supported 100 students from an array of countries who came to us not only from Europe but also from far-flung corners of the world including the Philippines, Ghana, Cameroon, Nepal, Belize, Mexico, Zambia, Pakistan, Guyana, the Maldives, Ecuador, Iceland, Serbia, Indonesia, Iran, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Kenya – what an enriching cultural experience that was for all of us and what diverse stories we learnt about early childhood education and the upbringing of early years educators.

When we now come together for the annual EECERA conference, we invariably meet some of these up-and-coming academic researchers who not only completed their postgraduate studies with us but have also forged their academic careers in various institutions, several having been awarded scholarships for their doctoral research. Carmen Huser, who moved from Germany to Charles Sturt University in Australia, Kassahun Weldemariam, who left Ethiopia to take up a post at Göteborgs Universitet University, Anna Grethe Baustad, now at Nord University in Bodø; Josephine Deguara from L-Università ta’ Malta and Bryndís Gunnarsdóttir at the University of Iceland are among those who come back to EECERA to share their research and establish their own networks. This is what EECERA is all about.

*In addition to serving as the 2004 EECERA Conference Chair , Valerie currently serves as an EECERA Country Coordinator for Malta.

Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA.

Related links:

EECERA Narratives #1 – Michel Vandenbroeck

EECERA Narratives #2 – Gerry Mulhearn

EECERA at 33: A Threshold Year of Belonging and Purpose

Become a member