In October this year, an exciting new ICDP Facilitator training was launched in Luuka District, Eastern Uganda. This was implemented as part of the Luuka Community Strengthening Project, funded by Mission Alliance in Norway and implemented by the African Evangelistic Enterprise (AEE) Uganda.
The ICDP training was a result of a coordinated effort between Stephen Malimba of AEE (Project Coordinator), Nicoletta Armstrong of ICDP International, and experienced Trainer Patrick O’Loughlin. Twenty (20) trainees, based in the project area of Luuka District and two (2) from a Strømme Foundation supported CBS Pewosa project from Butambala (Central Uganda) were enrolled. Trainers Chiku Ali (Tanzanian) and Patrick (Irish) travelled from Norway for the initial training. “We were very impressed by the excited, eager response we observed from the very start” says Patrick.
The training took eight days instead of the usual six, spread over two weeks with a weekend break in the middle. “We are very pleased we had the extra training days as everything was translated from English to the local language, Lusoga. We were better able to ensure a thorough understanding of the basic concepts and make sure ideas were shared mutually” adds Patrick. A particular strength is that one trainer, Chiku is from East Africa and could test whether participants were learning actively and challenging ICDP ideas. “You have heard all these ideas and concepts, seen our presentations, but what do you actually think?” Chiku Ali often asked. (Photo above: Chiku Ali facilitating trainees during a break-out session)
Trainees having energizing moment of song and dance
The training involved a lot of roleplay, discussion, song and dance. “Fascinating to see how the Basoga people embody and practice learning through song and dance. One of the many ideas and experiences we take home from Uganda to Norway!” said Patrick. It is always uncertain how the ICDP approach and concepts will be received in a new cultural setting. There were certainly some disagreements in its early days but the group confirmed that it is on an ‘ICDP Journey’. Already in the first days of training there were many wonderful moments of sharing and learning and it was after the weekend break halfway through that those clear signs of change emerged. One trainee, Yazid, tried out some of the themes from the Emotional and Meaning Dialogues with his young child at home. His joy at his child’s positive response was obvious. His wife also commented saying he did not usually have time to play with his child but this had changed! Another trainee, Moreen also reported “My sister was so surprised that I was giving my son more time and listening to him instead of chasing him away as usual”. The trainers could build on these first experiences and encourage others to try positive things and observe the effects.
“In addition to the moving stories and great fun singing and dancing, I come away with some general observations. Religion is a very important, central part of people’s lives and we trainers must be able to incorporate respect and understanding of this. Secondly, perhaps surprisingly, it seemed that the younger parents/trainee facilitators were more resistant to ICDP’s messages of change. Thirdly, that it is more important to use plenty of time to share ideas about basic concepts than cover in full all aspects of the training programme. We look forward to on-going discussions during our online supervision of running parent groups and at our final seminar” – Patrick.
The new facilitators are now set to begin their first caretaker meetings on 15th November 2025. This will mark the beginning of a transformative journey for Ugandan families—rooted in empathy, respect, and the belief that every child deserves to be valued as a person.
The whole group holding their copies of the ‘ICDP House’
In 2025, ICDP reached five areas in the eastern, western, and southern parts of Ethiopia. The facilitators were enthusiastic and highly motivated. After completing one round of parent groups, many facilitators continued with a second and even a third round.
The reports we are receiving from facilitators are remarkable. Some parents who had never expressed love to their children began saying “I love you” after attending the training. Their children even asked what had caused this change.
One mother shared that when her children learned she was attending the parent group, they said, “This is the right biblical teaching. Please tell the pastor so that all parents can receive this training.”
Another mother told her daughter that she loved her. The daughter replied, “If my father ever said he loves me, I think I would faint from joy,” because she had never heard him say those words. Another girl asked her mother, “Can’t you tell the pastor that all fathers should take this course?”
ICDP Ethiopia 2025: Certification of facilitators
Number of facilitators trained and certified in three locations: 61
Number of trained parents: 251
Children reached: 600
In addition, three facilitator trainings took place in Bishoftu, Dire Dawa, and Awasa. These new facilitators are now in the process of recruiting parent groups to start their sessions.
For twenty years now the “ICDP flame has been kept alive” in the Municipality of Sogamoso, in the Department of Boyacá. It is used to promote mental health, protection of children and integral development of minors.
ICDP started to develop in Sogamoso in 2005, in context of working on the prevention of violence against children and articulating actions on different fronts ranging from planning, action execution and evaluation of actions that promote the protection of children. These activities are developed as part of public policies, included in the municipal development plan and the territorial health plan.
The ICDP programme (called “I am a person”), is contemplated in specific actions to promote mental health in environments such as the family and the school community. The work is currently carried out by facilitators who use ICDP material (financed with their own resources and with support from the ICDP Colombia Foundation).
Mayor Mauricio Barón Granados and the Municipal Health Secretary Lucy Esperanza Rodríguez Pérez, are actively promoting ICDP. They have championed the work with children and adolescents in the municipality, with the understanding that the best way to help children is by providing tools to parents and caregivers who are directly related to parenting – the key being good communication, empathy and expression of feelings and emotions in safe environments.
CORRALES:
During 2025, Corrales, in the Department of Boyacá, became a model municipality because it has been implementing actions for the protection of children and adolescents. Despite limited resources they managed to articulate different actions to enhance protection of the rights of children and to promote good treatment by applying the ICDP programme “I am a person”. The ICDP programme is included in the Municipal Development Plan, the Municipal Public Policy for early childhood, childhood and adolescence; Territorial Health Plan – Mental Health Dimension; Good Treatment Programme.
Institutions involved: Municipal Administration; Municipal Council of Social Policy; Secretariat of Public Works, Development and Planning; General and Legal Secretariat; Secretariat of Culture; Family Commissioner; Local Health Directorate; State Social Enterprise Corrales Health Post; Juan José Samaniego Educational Institution, Children’s Homes of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare.
This work is carried out through training actions aimed at family and community groups in which children, adolescent, caregivers and families in various areas of life are involved. To prevent neglect or any form of abuse, good treatment is promoted using the fundamental elements of ICDP, to promote harmonious coexistence and dialogue, through group meetings.
The main aim is to raise awareness and guide those responsible for children under 8 years of age in their care, enriching their relationship of empathy and promoting emotionally sensitive and expressive communication with them. Adults are made aware of the importance of recognizing and respecting the individuality of children. Positive, empathetic, and caring interaction is promoted, including communication, meaningful dialogue, and mutual support.
By improving family dynamics and strengthening emotional bonds, the program indirectly seeks to reduce the levels of intra-family and social violence.
Participants become multipliers of the methodology, sharing the learnings in their communities and families, and expanding the reach of the ICDP programme.
VÉLEZ
Vélez, in the Department of Santander has been using ICDP in their projects for early childhood, childhood and adolescence and their families. Their focus is on the prevention of psychosocial risk and the promotion of mental health.
The link to different recorded video testimonies in Spanish:
Two events took place in Tanzania in different parts of the country in September 2025. One was a training in Dar es Salam and the other an historic event in Arusha. More than 50 facilitators and 11 trainers from 4 different parts of northern Tanzania were gathered for the biggest ICDP seminar ever held in Tanzania, together with 5 guests from Norway.
At the seminar, Grete Flakk from Norway, told the participants the story of ICDP Tanzania since its beginnings in Moshi in 2004. She invited Lui Mfangavo, Egla Matechi and Verynice Monyo to talk about their experiences as facilitators and trainers, who have been active from the very early days and still are today. Gunnar Eide from Fo Norway (Norwegian association of social workers) continued the story describing how ICDP was brought to Haydom in 2013, with Martha Massawe as coordinator, and lhow ater on, from 2015, the programme’s outreach was expended to other towns and villages in the Manyara region, through cooperation with TASWO (Tanzanian association of social workers) and with Ezekiel Assecheck as coordinator. First groups of facilitators were trained in Arusha in 2017, and then in Singida in 2019. The link to Moshi has been there all the time with Egla and Verynice as trainers of all new facilitators. And then finally, in 2024, eight of the facilitators were trained as trainers by Patrick O’Loughlin and Chiku Ali.
Several of the participants expressed their joy at getting to know the story of ICDP in Tanzania, as well as their pride of belonging to a larger community.
In addition to this the seminar focused on various topics related to both theory and practice: Daniel Kasikiwe from Arusha talked about early childhood and parenting care and compared ICDP with other public programmes in Tanzania, followed by Grete who talked about the characteristics of ICDP and asked if ICDP fits in all cultural contexts. This led to a conversation about Tanzanian traditions with either positive and negative aspects. Godwin Hilary from Singida talked about their experiences of the fight against FGM (female genital mutilation) in their region and how important it is to include this in the ICDP groups. Egla Matechi initiated a talk about challenges in working with sensitization and how to become better at implementing this in practice.
An important topic was how ICDP has influenced the participants’ own lives. Herson from Haydom told a touching story about his personal growth after attending ICDP. In his tribe it is the women’s job to raise daughters and men’s job to raise sons. His problem was that he had no sons but 8 daughters. He decided that this had to change, he informed his tribe and challenged them as well. And today he has a close and good relationship with his daughters’. “Sometimes they come to me instead of my wife when there is something they want to share or ask about,” he proudly finished.
To bring it all together an ICDP Tanzania Network was established on 22nd of September 2025. The interim group will be looking at how best to bring ICDP forward in Tanzania. Based on this Heidi Westborg Steel from ICDP Norway asked the facilitators at the workshop to dream about how ICDP might look like in their regions in the future.
Finally, it is important to say something about the atmosphere during the seminar. In good Tanzanian spirit there was a lot of singing and dancing. This is a good example of tradition with very positive outcomes!
A total of 18 individuals qualified as facilitators in the autumn of 2025. Their training was sponsored by the Strømme Foundation, Norway.
A voice from us, new facilitators from Eastern part of Tanzania, November 2025:
Interaction with parents / caregivers worked very well for us. Their stories, their ownership of change in parenting skills and testimonies were indeed a wake-up call for us all. Among many changes impacted by ICDP knowledge, we were all taken aback by how great the effect of insulting name-calling is on children. We never thought that negative name-calling was affecting a child’s self-esteem and that it could disrupt the natural development of a child in many areas. This was an eye opener for us. We, together with caregivers, had to stop and rewrite our cultural application modes from negative consequences they imposed. As one facilitator member put it: “I wish everybody would participate in this training. We should all ask ourselves how our children perceive us caregivers”!
We altogether expressed the need of promoting “ICDP families” in our communities. Though, in the beginning of the training we were a bit sceptical, at the end of the training we agreed that the ICDP intervention was easily embraced with very good results. We all reached an understanding that ICDP was not for younger generations and their children, but for all generations. In fact, we realised that it is mostly parents and grandparent`s stories that put ICDP on the agenda. ICDP fits in with everybody. Some of us have no children of our own but we have become “watch dogs” for our sisters and other members of our families, not to mention our neighbours and their children. It is just magic the way we spontaneously apply it in our everyday interactions.
One of us recalled that the community members had given her a nick name “ICDP mother”. She said, “whenever they saw her approaching, they found time to sit down with her and start asking questions that are to do with a positive and healthy child upbringing”. This is an achievement, not only for us but for the rest of all those who have been touched by ICDP.
We shared stories from parents who now call themselves legitimately “ICDP parents”. One parent confessed to us after she had attended a few meetings she finally allowed her son to study music, a field we as parents always thought of as vulgar and not a serious profession- “fani ya kihuni” in Swahili language. Another parent used to cane her child just because the child spit saliva on the palm of her hand and brushed the saliva on her dress. ICDP changed her. In short, we agreed that ICDP is an agent of change, we just need to send a message that helps caregivers to recognise that “a child is a person”. In Swahili language this is now a slogan; “MTOTO NI MTU”
Children with health challenges such as physical disabilities, dyslexia, mental health issues are now receiving the ICDP approach. We received testimonies assuring us that some vulnerable groups are now no longer suffering violence, and are protected from being bullied – instead they are included in activities as far as their capacities allow.
We, as facilitators, are certainly helping others regarding healthy upbringing. When we acknowledge and applaud parents who have realized that corporal punishment is not a solution, this is an undeniably a result of ICDP.
Tanzania is a country with many ethnic groups. There are more that 130 languages spoken in Tanzania – all with different cultural practices. We, the facilitators in the Coast Region also come from different cultures under the same nation, Tanzania. Our ICDP gathering enriched our knowledge by sharing unique stories among us. This diverse cultural meeting gave us a wider perspective in collecting and comparing parents’ experiences from out there in the communities. Together with caregivers with different perspectives and practices in child’s upbringing, we have nevertheless been able to build a common ground for all, simply by sharing those experiences.
ICDP is not only a good platform but a “safe space”. It is solution-oriented, allowing you to let your children feel free to choose their professions, their dreams. ICDP nurtures peer living. Before ICDP, we deprived children of their role in forming their own future lives. However, with ICDP, we are now embracing a platform that will help their development. Meeting with parents was an added value both for them and their children, as well as for us with our families. Violence has become a stranger because “love wins all”.
Let us sum up our news by narrating a short story from Mossi Pembe (on photo above):
Mossi Pembe, a 46-year-old mother of three and grandmother of one from Bagamoyo community, once described herself as a very strict and feared parent.
“I used to be extremely harsh, and the entire community knew me for my tough nature,” she recalls. Her relationship with her children was strained, and communication within the family was almost non-existent.
Mossi admits that in her earlier parenting approach, she treated her children more like objects than individuals with feelings and needs. This deeply affected them and contributed to their misbehaviour, as they grew up in an environment dominated by fear rather than understanding. In her household, discipline was often enforced through punishment. “Whenever something went wrong, my first instinct was to beat them, not to ask questions,” Mossi says. This pattern created fear and silence among the children.
One painful example she remembers is when her grandson lost his school bag and exercise books. Out of fear of being beaten, he kept it a secret and went to school for a whole week without writing anything. When Mossi eventually found out, she reacted with anger and punished him severely without even asking for the reason. Incidents like this built a wall between her and the children, making them fearful and withdrawn.
Everything began to change when Mossi was introduced to ICDP. The training focused on positive parenting and how to raise children in a more loving and understanding environment. It became a turning point in her life.
“Through the knowledge I received, I have changed significantly. It has really helped me in raising my children and my grandchild,” Mossi shares.
The ICDP training opened her eyes to a new way of parenting one based on empathy, dialogue, and mutual respect, rather than fear and punishment.
“These days, I no longer rush to punish my children when something goes wrong. I take time to talk to them and understand the root cause of their behaviour,” she explains. “I listen to them more, and we have open conversations. I now use calm words to solve problems instead of shouting or beating.”
Her 11-year-old grandson, Shafii Haruna Juma (on photo below), has also noticed the transformation.
“I used to be afraid of my grandmother. She was always harsh and difficult to talk to,” he says. “But recently, she has changed. I haven’t been beaten in a long time. One day, my shoes were stolen at school, and I called her. To my surprise, she came to the school shortly after and helped me. I was so happy. I didn’t expect that at all. I thought she would beat me without even asking what had happened.”
Mossi’s transformation has not gone unnoticed. Her children now enjoy a closer and more loving relationship with their mother.
“I’ve also started to praise them when they do something good,” she says with a smile. “This is a big change for me. I never used to acknowledge their efforts before, but now I recognize and celebrate their achievements.”
She is deeply grateful for the knowledge she gained through ICDP and encourages other parents to embrace this positive approach to parenting. This shift has brought peace, trust, and joy back into her home.
What Happened so far This Year, update by Magdalena Brannstrom
TRAINING:
In January, we had a new ICDP course training new facilitators.
In April, the new facilitators started running their own ICDP courses for caregivers. Two groups of caregivers attended the ICDP course in two different “Happy Start” preschools. And two groups of preschool caregivers who became facilitators, went on to implement the ICDP programme with parents. This was a great group of facilitators, who enjoyed the training process and we also had fun together. The results are very good, as I was able to observe facilitators and see that they are doing excellent work in delivering the ICDP programme to parents and preschool staff.
In June, we conducted a ceremony to give out certificates to new ICDP Facilitators. Six people received their ICDP Facilitator Diploma.
TELEGRAM CHANNELS: We have started two new ICDP Telegram channels for those who want to have more information about the programme. Parents, teachers or anyone who has gone through the programme will receive updates on these channels.
MATERIALS: We have finalized the material translated into Uzbek. We now have available in Uzbek language, both the booklet “I Am a Person”, and the “ICDP Guide for Facilitators”.
In September we started an ICDP programme for teachers in the government school called “School 29”, where the training is being held on Saturdays. Three facilitators are conducting this ICDP course: Ragnar Moskvild, Tabea Wick and Magdalena Brannstrom are conducting the ICDP course for some of the school teachers. To date, we have had about 60 teachers participating in the training. Not everyone attends at the same time, about 25 to 30 teachers participate in sessions. The training is going very well and the teachers have been very interested and engaged. And we will end the course in December.
Here is some feedback from the ICDP course with preschool staff:
From a trainee facilitator doing her first ICDP course: -I think this course had a positive impact on the participants because they were of different ages, cultures, and backgrounds in working with children. Those who have already taken this course gained a new perspective on familiar principles.
Feedback from another trainee facilitator doing her first ICDP course in a kindergarten with her colleagues. This is her feedback after observing her participants’ interaction with the children during and after the ICDP course. She observed how her colleagues had changed: – I was able to achieve the goal of my work. When I saw how the participants interacted with the children, that is when I understood that their attitude towards the children had changed. They began communicating with them more, and I could see them starting to touch children reassuringly.
Comment from another facilitator, who said: – At one of the meetings, we discussed how children need to be shown love and care, and we talked about the meaningful dialogue. Immediately after this meeting, I saw how the participants began to connect with children more, to connect with them on their level. And then, later after the ICDP course has been completed I noticed that many of the participants have begun communicating with their children differently and have begun to achieve mutual agreement with children without using strict or harsh ways, but with love and patience.
Feedback from parents who attended ICDP caregiver course:
A mother said: – The relationship and understanding between me and the children has improved. It is easier for me to give information. The children are behaving more stably now, with fewer hysterical reactions. The relationship and understanding within the family became better.
Another mother explained: – I became calmer. I learned how to set time for my children and make it predictable for them; How to spend time intentionally and communicate plans ahead (e.g., telling them what will happen tomorrow).
Feedback from one of the teachers
After the session about turning negative aspects into positive aspects in a child or a student, one of the facilitators talked about how you need to dig for gold in each student. At the next ICDP meeting, one of the teachers shared about her home task and showed a picture of students lining up and presenting something. She explained that one of the boys in the picture was usually not very engaged in class, but in this picture, the boy was standing with other students, presenting. The teacher sent this picture to the boy’s father and told him: “Look at your son. Look how great he is doing the presentation. How engaged he is in the class.” This had a positive effect on the father. The next day, the boy who before was not engaged and maybe not listening attentively, was now very engaged in class. She thought probably the father had said something positive to the boy after seeing the picture.
In the Institute for Relational Psychology (Institut for Relationspsykologi), we have conducted ICDP courses in both daycare centers and schools with all or a large part of the staff group. There is a great strength in this, as it provides a common language and a common starting point for the relational and resource-oriented work in practice and many good discussions during the course.
This is a story from a teacher at a Danish school who has participated in the ICDP course together with her colleagues. She describes the effect that working relationally based on the interaction themes has had for her.
I was a little skeptical about what ICDP would change in my pedagogical practice. I wondered if it would be another “fancy model” that would quietly be shelved with many other initiatives. I have been very positively surprised by how effective ICDP has been for me and how quickly I can see results from the changes I make. I quickly experienced gains in my relationships with all the children in my class by applying the 8 interaction themes. Small adjustments have a big impact.
The teacher has also expressed that it has been of great importance to her that she has accompanied her colleagues in the process.
The above is an example of how ICDP has an effect in practice. The processes we have had with staff groups have given rise to a dialogue about how, as an organization or municipality, you can build good structures and an organization in terms of management that ensures the continued implementation of the ICDP principles. We therefore see an increased interest in supporting this process in practice.
The Danish Centre for ICDP (Dansk Center for ICDP) has published new teaching material, to be used when applying ICDP with children in kindergartens.
These new materials provide help for professionals to support the development of children’s social skills through teaching, conversations and guidance. The “suitcase with materials” can be used as a concrete toolbox for teaching and individual counselling of children who need knowledge about relationships and interaction. The material can be a valuable resource for introducing the eight themes for good interaction (ICDP) at children’s level.
How do we use our emotions – so that our hearts become warmer?
How do we play and learn together – so that our brains become smart?
How do we help decide – so that we create good communities?
New book
Resilience researcher Ida Skytte Jakobsen, PhD and psychologist Anne Linder have together published the book “The Resilience Guide” at the publishing house Dafolo. The book is based on the basic idea that good relationships – created through the ICDP create the necessary hope and resilience in vulnerable children and families.
The book is aimed at professionals – teachers, educators, social workers and psychologists in both general and special education contexts – and it gives concrete instructions on how to work together to strengthen hope, relations and resilience of children and young people when life becomes a challenge.
The first group of ICDP facilitators received their certificates on Sunday, 24th of August, 2025. They came from different organizations involved in the care of children and adults, and all participants carried out their field work with great enthusiasm and commitment.
During the last workshop, every single facilitator’s presentation revealed a precious journey of empowerment and sensitization through the ICDP process. The facilitators felt touched by the many golden moments they had experienced while applying the eight ICDP guidelines for good interaction within a caregiving context, whether with children or with adults. One facilitator implemented the ICDP programme with a group of eight parents (seven mothers and one father). He wrote the following summary:
All participating parents did primarily reflect on their own attitudes andself-perception. (…) Parents described truly noticeable shifts in the qualityof their relationship with their children. Several reported touching feedback from the children, who noticed changes in their parents’ behavior toward them that made them feel more at ease and emotionally supported. (…) A sense of trust emerged among the participants and in their relationship with me as the facilitator. One participant described how, in the moment of interaction(with her child), she sensed the presence of the entire group in her mind,helping her mastering the situation. (…) The atmosphere of the parent meetings was warm and familiar, and they became a routine for every participant who gladly integrated them into their daily routines even though it seemed so busy. It felt like a breath of fresh air from the busy day, shared in a circle of trust.
– J. Blume, Berlin.
The implementation of ICDP in Germany is being led by psychologist Rita Crecelius. She is supported by the Lower Saxony Institute for Early Childhood Education and Development (nifbe) and AEWB, the Agency for Adult and Continuing Education in Lower Saxony. The next facilitator level training will start in February 2026.
(Photo: The September sun shines on ICDP facilitators as they explore Empathy in action.)
As the autumn envelops us in dark evenings, ICDP Finland has many shining memories to look back on from this year.
We would especially like to highlight the international training, where twenty-seven youth workers and teachers from seventeen different European countries participated in a three-day ICDP course in Pargas. The event was organized by Pargas City Youth Department in a successful collaboration with ICDP Finland and the EU SALTO Erasmus+ programme.
At the end of September, 21 ICDP facilitators met in Helsinki to dive into the subject of Empathy in action. We learned about the different meanings and nuances of the words empathy, sympathy, compassion, and empathetic identification. To the delight of the participants, we also got to practice empathy in workshops and role play.
Our third highlight of the year is currently in the making. We are grateful to our extended ICDP-family in Sweden, who have produced an ICDP-booklet for expectant parents and given us permission to translate it into Finnish. This will soon be ready and we are eagerly awaiting to be able to launch the booklet for this important target group.
