Dear friends,

I am very happy to share with you the news about a recent event, an incredibly inspiring conference conducted in the spirit of one of the greatest humanists of the 20th century, Janusz Korczak (1878-1942). The conference was organized by the talented educators, social workers, and psychologists from the Dutch Korczak Association, and brought together representatives from over fifteen countries that share Korczak’s ideas. You can find more information through this link to the conference Facebook page: http://bit.ly/JKconference2016. Although nicely done, the cover photo of everyone – participants and attendants – cannot fully capture the positive emotions and the uplifting spirit of this wonderful event!

Today, the editorial board is proud and honored to introduce papers from the participants of this conference and longtime followers of Korczak’s ideas – famous Russian academics Rosa Valeeva and Irina Demakova; an organizer of the Dutch summer camp “Nash Dom” Alsu Nikonorova; a specialist in teacher training from Amsterdam Helma Brouwers; and Tania Novinsky Haberkorn, president of the Korczak Association from Brazil. I also want to highlight the paper by a talented Russian academic, Inna Shustova, that is written in virtual cooperation with her late daughter Daria and includes surprisingly mature ideas drawn from Daria’s Manifest of Children. Do not overlook her paper – I am sure you will discover many interesting concepts – and if you are a teacher (or a parent), expect a number of surprises. I hope this will then inspire you to read Korczak’s books, especially How to Love a Child, and When I am Little Again. There are additional articles written by Alissa Berger and James Deurbrouck, young teachers and graduates from Seattle Pacific University, and Michael Clark, a school administrator in Washington State, who were inspired by Korczak’s ideas and describe how to incorporate them into modern schools.

Finally, we are sending our heartiest greetings to Professor Anatoly Mudrik, a famous Russian researcher, for his 75th birthday! His creative works have found many admirers in Russia and abroad, and we wish him many more years of innovative and fruitful work and new original publications. There is a paper by his former student and current professor, Mikhail Voropaev, who introduces some of Mudrik’s ideas to our readers.

I feel I have said enough to encourage your reading of this latest journal issue!

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments and ideas.

Always yours,
Tatyana Tsyrlina-Spady
Editor-in-Chief
tsyrlina@aol.com