20 years of professionalisation in early years literacy promotion: practical experiences from the organisation ‘SIKJM’

The organisation SIKJM* has been engaged in the field of early literacy promotion since attention in Switzerland first began to shift towards early childhood in the early 2000s,. The aim of the two programmes ‘Schenk mir eine Geschichte’ (‘Tell me a story’) and ‘Leseanimator:innen SIKJM’ (‘SIKJM reading ambassadors’) has been to qualify facilitators who work directly with children and adults (professionals and parents) to foster rich and diverse experiences with language, stories and books. 
The facilitators of ‘Schenk mir eine Geschichte’ work directly with families and children up to the age of five in a wide range of heritage languages. The ‘SIKJM reading ambassadors’ operate in various early childhood institutions, particularly in libraries in connection with the ‘Book start’ initiative. 
This article traces the development and establishment of the two programmes within the Swiss early childhood educational landscape, alongside the evolution of SIKJM itself, and seeks to address current challenges.

*Swiss Institute for Children’s and Young People’s Media