The Africa Reggio Emilia Alliance is delighted to offer the 2026 Online Symposium on the Language of Drawing, co-promoted by Reggio Children. Inspired by Reggio Children’s exhibition The Pleasures of Drawing, this symposium invites educators to deepen their understanding of drawing as a living language. It runs from 1 September to 13 October 2026.

As part of the symposium, participants will gain access to three pre-recorded webinars and a live interactive online session, all with Maddalena Tedeschi, president of Reggio Children, in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and Sara De Poi, atelierista and video documentation creator. Recordings of the webinars will be available throughout the symposium period. Presentations will be in Italian and will be translated into English.

During the 90-minute interactive session on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, from 3:00pm – 4:30pm (SAST), participants will be able to share questions, reflections and comments with Maddalena Tedeschi and Sara De Poi. A recording of this session will also be made available until 13 October.

Topics include:

• INVENTIONS IN DRAWING (Webinar #1 with Maddalena Tedeschi): This webinar looks at drawing as a powerful, essential* language going back to the earliest days of humanity. It is expressive and poetic, often linked to verbal language, but it can also reveal ideas before words are formed. A mark (segno) and a drawing (disegno) become traces of our identity and points of view as we relate to others and the world around us.
  *in the sense of being both indispensable and containing an essence.
• THE PLEASURE OF DRAWING. THE VISUAL THINKING OF CHILDREN (Webinar #2 with Sara De Poi): This webinar looks at the language of drawing and analyses drawings by children from 0-10 years. It explores how the language of drawing helps children to think, make choices, and build ideas, revealing what children show through their drawings as they create them.
• IMAGINE A FOREST (Webinar #3 with Maddalena Tedeschi): This webinar shares a project on trees as natural connectors of the Earth, from the infant-toddler centres and preschools of Reggio Emilia. Children explored trees through marks and drawings. The project involved the whole city and led to a public exhibition in the main square of Reggio Emilia’s historic centre.

PLEASE NOTE:
After registering below, participants will receive an invoice for R200 within 2 business days. Proof of payment with your name and surname as the beneficiary reference must be emailed to admin@reggio.co.za. Registrations will be confirmed, and further information and instructions will be emailed on receipt of your proof of payment.

R200 per registration, all-inclusive
For more information, email admin@reggio.co.za

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER