Fröbel Decade

More than 200 years ago, Friedrich Fröbel was one of the first to recognise the importance of the first year of life and an intact family for the healthy development of a child. Early childhood education and its significance for building a child’s social competence are highly topical themes, often discussed in politics and society. For this reason, the Fröbel Network is working to bring Fröbel’s inheritance into wider sight, removing it from a museum context and bringing it into contemporary practice. Indeed, Fröbel’s philosophy provides the answer to many current questions and problems in the field of education.

The life and achievements of Friedrich Fröbel are closely tied with Thuringia and the Schwarzatal. His legacy in the region provides an opportunity for the distribution of his ideas to Thuringia, Germany and the world, as well as a drawcard for tourism in the Schwarzatal and the state.

A reason for the foundation of the Fröbel Network was to develop the Schwarzatal for tourism, with Fröbel as a unique character of interest and the Fröbel Decade as a promotional tool. With this regional background, the Fröbel Decade was opened in 2013. Since then, the concept has successfully exceeded regional boundaries. 

The Fröbel Network has structured its brief to a certain timeframe. The term “Decade” is therefore a working title, under which activities and projects can be pooled together. The Decade is not designed to achieve a certain aim, rather what is decisive is the timeframe, for which the Fröbel Network is planning activities.

The Fröbel Decade features a series of themed years, which provide answers from various aspects to the question: what is the importance of Fröbel’s philosophy for our life today?

An Overview of the Themed Years: 

2013 - Opening Year
2014 - Fröbel and Nature
2015 - Fröbel's Kindergarten
2016 - Fröbel, God and the World 
2017 - Fröbel, the Pedagogue
2018 - Fröbel and Politics
2019 - Fröbel and the Modern Age
2020 - Fröbel's Ideas in Germany and the World
2021 - Women and Men in Educational Careers
2022 - Fröbel Today