The Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania is organizing a new event in the Webdidactica Conference series, held as part of the national campaign “Preschoolers’ Olympiads” - the only national competition for preschool-aged children. Over 15,000 children have already registered for this year’s edition, and registration remains open.
The Webdidactica event “The Romania of the Future Begins in Preschool – Practical Tools for Early Education” will be available for free online on the Foundation’s YouTube channel starting Wednesday, April 22, at20:00. Anyone interested can access the latest insights from developmental psychology and neuroscience.
The invited experts emphasize that early childhood education is not merely a preparatory stage for school, but a critical period during which foundations are laid for working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility, and during which emotional self-regulation and language skills are developed. In this context, educators and parents become essential partners, with the role of observing each child’s potential and creating a balance between cognitive stimulation and protecting the preschooler’s psychological well-being.
The event will be opened by Thea Ionescu, a university professor and specialist in cognitive developmental psychology, who will analyze the fundamental mechanisms that predict academic success, such as executive functions and self-regulation. This theoretical foundation is complemented by the practical perspective of Luisa Cerasela Drăgoi, a preschool teacher with nearly three decades of experience. She addresses the acute issue of attention fragmentation in the context of an overstimulating environment and proposes validated pedagogical strategies for helping children regain their focus through routine and natural activities.
The process of identifying and monitoring progress is addressed by Monica Bolocan, a psychologist and expert in clinical child assessment, who offers solutions for accurately observing developmental resources. She provides guidelines for using modern assessment tools to guide personalized intervention and facilitate responsible communication with parents, eliminating unnecessary pressure on the preschooler.
The human side and the balance between adults’ expectations and children’s real needs are explored through the contributions of Simona Gherghe and Atena Boca. Journalist Simona Gherghe raises the issue of the need to protect childhood from the culture of performance and constant comparison. She offers an authentic perspective on healthy boundaries and the importance of a parent’s real presence as a source of security. This picture of the family’s emotional well-being is completed by Atena Boca, founder of “La primul bebe” (The First Baby) - an important community dedicated to parents, which analyzes the impact of isolation and the pressure of social media, emphasizing the benefits of a support group when parents need emotional support.
Those who watch the conference will have direct access to a valuable set of practical tools provided by experts - from techniques for developing executive functions and exercises to improve attention and concentration, to methods for accurately assessing progress and strategies for emotional self-regulation - applicable both at home and in kindergarten.
All these sessions will be available to watch for free online starting Wednesday, April 22, at 20:00, providing a permanent educational resource on the official YouTube channel of the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania.
