Council Recommendation on early childhood education and care
The Barcelona targets for 2030: more children under 3 in quality early education.
Read the document ↗Green Innovation Hub ·
Early childhood education, ages 0–6
First steps.
Curiosity about nature and technology starts before school. We bring play, nature and logical thinking to little ones — together with their parents.
- Ages 0–6
- Parents
- Nature
- Logical thinking
The European model we are bringing to Vrancea
The baby book bag.
Model: BoekStart (Netherlands, since 2011) · Lesestart 1-2-3 (Germany) · Bookstart (United Kingdom)
Every baby in our partner communities receives, through the library, a bag with their first books, a guide for parents and materials from nature — and grandparents are invited to read too.
We found no Bookstart-style programme in Romania, so we are building one with the libraries of Vrancea.
✓What it has shown in Europe
- In the Netherlands, nearly 4 in 5 libraries work with BoekStart
- Every year, tens of thousands of Dutch babies receive the pack
- Part of a European network of book programmes for young children (EURead)
The cause · why we are starting this programme
The foundations are laid before school.
Very few children under 3 in Romania receive early childhood education, and the gap shows later in their school results.
11,4%
of children under 3 in Romania take part in early childhood education and care
European Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2025, 2024 · [1]Children under 3 in early childhood education
52%of Romanian 15-year-olds are below the baseline level in maths — gaps that start earlyOECD, PISA 2025, 2025 · [4]
European alignment
What Europe asks. What we do in Vrancea.
The programme responds directly to the policies the European Union asks of Member States — applied at the level of Vrancea County, for all ages.
European Education Area 2025–2030
Targets for 2030: under 15% of pupils below the baseline level and 96% of children from age 3 in early childhood education.
Read the document ↗Launch readiness
How ready we are before day one.
We are not waiting for funding to start thinking about the programme. Here, openly, is what is ready and what comes next.
69%
Readiness indexCalculated from 8 launch criteria- ✓European model analysed and documentedReady
- ✓Alignment with EU policies checkedReady
- ✓Context data from official sourcesReady
- ✓Expert profiles definedReady
- ✓Activities and objectives plannedReady
- ◐Own resources identified: space and equipmentPartial
- ○Implementation partners confirmedIn progress
- ○Funding securedIn progress
- Sept. 2026Analysis & European model
- Q4 2026Partners & funding applications
- 2027Pilot in Vrancea
- 2028+Expansion, under the new 2028–2034 EU financial framework
What we will do
One main activity and three that support it.
The baby book bag
Every baby in our partner communities receives, through the library, a bag with their first books, a guide for parents and materials from nature — and grandparents are invited to read too.
Little explorers
Outings in nature for children and parents.
Screen-free logic play
Floor robots and sequencing games for algorithmic thinking.
Parents’ workshop
Healthy use of technology in the family.
Project status
In preparation · launch 2027- 1ConceptAnalysis & partners
- 2PilotFirst activities
- 3OngoingActive in the community
- 4ExpansionRegional scale-up
✓What we already have
- CODE Kids Club for years 4–8 (since 2024)
- Marty robotics for older pupils
- Experience in nature activities with children
→Programme objectives
- First book bags, through partner libraries (2027)
- First “Little explorers” groups (2027)
- Logic play kits in partner nurseries
- Workshops for parents on technology in the family
How it connects
How it connects to what we already do.
No programme stands alone: each one uses the equipment, people and data of the others.
Connected programmeEnvironment & biodiversityNature, from the very first stories.See →Connected programmeActive ageingGrandparents become readers for the little ones.See →Connected programmeIntergenerational NetworkGenerations meet around a book.See →Connected programmeDigital education & AIFrom the first book to the first line of code.See →
Our role · how we work
The programme starts with experts, not improvisation.
The same five steps as in all our programmes: data, experts, equipment, community, public results.
- Local diagnosisWe start from data: the schools, the villages and the real needs of young people in Vrancea.
- A programme built with expertsCurriculum and activities designed together with specialists and teachers.
- Training & equipmentWe bring kits, laptops and mentors wherever they are missing.
- Working in the communityFree, hands-on activities at school, in the village or out in the field.
- Measurement & public reportingWe count the results and publish them — verifiable figures, not promises.
Who we work with
The experts beside the children.
The specialist profiles we start and run the activities with. Their names appear in the project reports.
Nursery teachersAdapt activities for pre-school ages.Involved from the start
Child psychologistsGuide the balance between play, nature and screens.Involved from the start
Environmental educatorsLead nature outings for the little ones.Involved from the start
Volunteer parentsPartners in every activity.Involved from the start
What we hope for · how you can help
Be among those who launch the programme.
The programme is ready. You choose how to help, and your support goes to this programme. This page shows what is ready and what comes next, and we will publish the first results after the 2027 launch.
A logic play kit for a nursery
Floor robots and sequencing games.
Donate →Partner nurseries
We bring the activities to your nursery.
Invite us →Nursery teachers and volunteer parents
One morning a month with the little ones.
Become a volunteer →Play materials
Books, games and nature materials.
Donate materials →Sources and methodology
Where the figures come from.
Our own figures (young people trained, schools, localities) come from the association’s records and are published in the impact report. Context statistics come from official sources, with the year of the latest available edition.
- Children under 3 in early childhood education and care, RomaniaEuropean Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2025 · 2024. See source ↗
- Romania’s target for 2030 (Barcelona targets)Council Recommendation on early childhood education and care (2022) · 2030. See source ↗
- Children under 3 in early childhood education and care, EU averageEuropean Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2025 · 2024. See source ↗
- 15-year-olds below the baseline level in mathematics, Romania (OECD average: 35%)OECD, PISA 2025 · 2025. See source ↗
Portfolio 2026–2027
Technology built by young people, for resilient communities.
First Steps is part of the 2026–2027 portfolio of Asociația Grupul Verde: 43 programme lines in which young people build technology for nature, protected species, climate and democracy, with partners from Romania and the EU through Horizon Europe, LIFE, Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and CERV.
Technology, AI and resilience
AI in pre-school and primary education
Short activities, screen-free or with Marty the Robot, through which children aged 4–10 understand how a machine “thinks”. Young volunteers prepare them.
Target programme: Horizon Europe
Linked to: Digital education & AI, AI in Romania
Technology, AI and resilience
Youth, digital innovation and disaster resilience
Secondary school students build flood, drought and earthquake sensors and a digital risk map that families and authorities can use.
Target programme: Horizon Europe
Linked to: Vrancea Ready, Resilient Communities
Erasmus+ and mobility
Youth exchanges, youth worker mobility and youth participation
Young people from Vrancea travel and host peers from across Europe; youth workers learn new ways of working with technology.
Target programme: Erasmus+
Linked to: Youth, gender & activism, Inclusion for Every Child
Open science and research
Youth, science and democracy (science literacy)
Pupils learn to read a study, spot a misleading statistic and build their own experiment with low-cost sensors.
Target programme: Horizon Europe
Linked to: Media & Democracy, AI in Romania
Technology, AI and resilience
Resilience of rural communities to shocks
Villages learn to withstand drought, floods, price shocks and isolation. Young people map local resources and build simple alert tools.
Target programme: Horizon Europe
Linked to: Rural communities, Resilient Communities
Technology, AI and resilience
AI for local climate resilience
AI models trained by young people on local data (temperature, rainfall, soil) that tell a community what to prepare before a heatwave summer.
Target programme: Horizon Europe · Adaptation Mission
Linked to: Agentic AI, Vrancea Ready
Support First Steps
Help this pilot get started.
Your donation goes straight into the activities of First Steps in Vrancea — materials, kits, trainers and transport for children and young people. Every amount counts.
Bank transfer with no fees · 3.5% of your tax · sponsorship with a contract