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News and Activities
News and Activities 16/07/2026
ONLINE WORKSHOP SERIES WITH ANNA HARSCH
About the Workshop Series
Anna Harsch was involved in developing the WaBe (from german: "WArnehmung der BEdürfnisse") observation tool:
“WaBe – Perceiving Children’s Needs: Assessing and Reflecting on the Well-Being of Children Aged 1–3 in Nursery Care”
In this interactive workshop series, she presents the tool for the first time within the framework of Pikler International and connects its application to the core principles of the Pikler approach.
The workshops invite participants to discover the tool together, work through it using practical examples, and reflect on its application in everyday pedagogical practice.
Content of the Workshop Series
Perceiving children’s needs is an essential prerequisite for the well-being of children in nursery care. Children between the ages of one and three are especially dependent on sensitive adults who recognize, understand, and appropriately respond to their needs.
The WaBe observation tool supports professionals in:
- systematically perceiving children’s needs,
- assessing the well-being of individual children,
- reflecting on their pedagogical practice, and
- deriving concrete courses of action for everyday practice.
The tool is based on five need groups, oriented on Maslow’s human needs while also taking into account each child’s individuality. For each need group, an observation sheet was developed, comprising observable behavior, reflection questions, and recommendations for action.
The Pikler approach considers the child’s well-being a central prerequisite for healthy development. Attentive perception of and response to children’s needs, as well as support for their growing independence, form essential foundations. The workshop series shows how the WaBe observation tool can be connected with the Pikler approach.
Structure of the Series
The series comprises six consecutive, building online workshops:
|
Workshop 1 |
Introduction to the WaBe observation tool · Fundamentals of perceiving children’s needs · Introduction to the five need groups & exploration of need group 1 |
|
Workshop 2 |
Need Group 2: Safety Needs |
|
Workshop 3 |
Need Group 3: Social Needs |
|
Workshop 4 |
Need Group 4: Individual Needs |
|
Workshop 5 |
Need Group 5: Educational Needs |
|
Workshop 6 |
WaBe in Light of the Pikler Approach · Children’s Needs and Children’s Rights · The Pikler Convention as Pedagogical Guidance |
Each workshop includes expert input, joint reflection, practical examples, and time for discussion and questions.
Practical Information
Format: Online (Zoom)
Duration: 3 hours each (including a short break)
Thanks to Zoom’s built-in translation feature, subtitles can also be displayed in the desired language.
Presentations will be provided to participants in writing in advance.
Date of the 1st Workshop: October 9, 2026, 6:00–9:00 PM CET
Languages: German and French
Cost:
€30,
€25 for individual members of Pikler International
Charity Event
This workshop series is a charity event in support of Pikler International. The speaker and the translator are volunteering their collaboration; proceeds will support the work of Pikler International.
News and Activities 08/07/2026
This year, we held our General Assembly in writing – convenient and independent of location, through the online voting platform Balotilo.
From 12 to 19 June 2026, all our members had the opportunity to have their say on the important topics of the past year as well as on the future of Pikler International.
We are pleased that around 30% of our members cast their vote – a heartfelt thank you to everyone who took the time to do so! Every single vote helps us develop our association together.
What was decided?
Members approved the 2025 activity report and the financial report by a large majority, and granted discharge to the treasurer. The proposed changes to the statutes were also approved, including an expansion of individual member representation on the board to now three to six people.
We warmly welcome our newly elected board members:
Jean-Marie Caby, Belgium
Nicolas Camourian, France,
Anna Harsch, Austria and
Inge Cardon Fomasi, Switzerland
will now represent the individual members.
Azucena Linares Gomez, Spain, will represent the associate members on the Pikler International Board. Two seats are still vacant. Would any of our associate members like to get involved on the board? We look forward to hearing from you.
Also elected were our two auditors: Françoise Curchod, who has kept a watchful eye on our finances for many years, will now be supported by Raymonde Caffari.
A year full of movement
2025 was an eventful year for Pikler International: we modernised and streamlined our administration with the new ClubDesk software, expanded our presence on Instagram, and held an inspiring trilingual exchange with Elena Herrán Izagirre. We have also begun automating the collection of membership fees and kindly ask all members who have not yet done so to complete their membership via our website.
We remember Anna Tardos and Geneviève Appel with quiet gratitude – they shaped our association and Pikler pedagogy for many years.
We thank all our members for their trust and commitment – and everyone who stood for election or took on a role, for their dedication to Pikler International. We look forward to an exciting new year together with you!
News and Activities 05/11/2025
News and Activities 30/09/2025
Elena Herrán will give her presentation in Spanish Into which other languages should her presentation be translated? The subsequent discussion will be conducted bilingually with the help of interpreters. In which language would you like to participate? Please let us know
News 17/08/2025
It is with immense gratitude and deep sadness that we bid farewell to Geneviève Appell, psychologist, author of numerous writings, and one of the most important pioneers—alongside Myriam David—of Pikler pedagogy worldwide.
As Emmi Pikler's long-time partner, Geneviève Appell played a decisive role in spreading and successfully implementing the principles of this unique educational approach beyond national borders. The team at the Lóczy Institute in Budapest also learned a great deal from her. She enriched this educational approach in a lasting way.
With her keen sense of observation of children, her deep respect for their autonomy, and her impressive clarity of expression, she inspired generations of professionals.
Geneviève Appell was not only the first recipient of the Pikler® Prize, but also an outstanding thinker, translator, and transmitter of knowledge. Through her numerous articles and publications, she contributed greatly to spreading understanding of children and the importance of sensitive support in the international professional world.
We are particularly proud that she wrote a text especially for Pikler International, which we will continue to make available in her honor:
Rencontrer Emmi Pikler et ses collaboratrices.
De l'Accueil lóczien au Prendre soin piklérien – D'hier à aujourd'hui (1967–2014) https://piklerinternational.com/en/documents-events/documents
This text is a moving summary of her deep understanding and decades of experience in Pikler pedagogy – a tribute to Emmi Pikler and the many women who have carried on and developed this approach.
We salute a life filled with commitment, wisdom, and integrity. Her eternal open-mindedness, joie de vivre, and human warmth, which were evident in every encounter, will also remain unforgettable.
Geneviève Appell lives on in our work.
News 29/06/2024
The Pikler Prize was awarded on June 12, 2024 in the garden of the Pikler-Lóczy House in Budapest.
Congratulations to
Dr. Borbély Sjoukje
and
Dr. Elena Herrán Izagirre
Foto: Piklerstudio
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