With the aim of setting up contexts favourable to the inclusion, learning and development of each child, whatever his or her situation and needs, APEMH is experimenting with pedagogy based on cultural and artistic mediation and is exploring the potential of pedagogy in nature and more particularly in the forest. The project aimed, for these two axes, to enrich the theoretical corpus and practical tools of APEMH professionals, to identify good practices and to exchange with peers. More concretely, for nature education, the aim was to familiarise the team with the "Beschcrèche" concept, to deepen their knowledge of the development of spaces in nature, to improve the practices and tools for raising the awareness of the youngest children concerning the protection of the environment by disseminating an "ecological reflex" in their daily lives. Concerning cultural and artistic mediation, the aim was to meet new visions, formulate new ideas and share good practices on the following themes: social mix, co-education, transcultural mediation, involvement of isolated families.
For more than 50 years, APEMH has been developing an inclusive approach for adults with intellectual disabilities and for the last ten years has been working to offer inclusive services for young children. Within its structures, APEMH implements inspiring pedagogical practices such as pedagogy in nature and artistic mediation, with convincing results for the children in terms of autonomy and openness to the world. For a variety of reasons, the context in which APEMH's day care centres operate is tending to evolve towards cultural, social, economic and family hyper-diversity, which requires the pedagogical approach to be fleshed out with themes such as co-education and the involvement of families suffering from isolation (single-parent families, precarious families, migrant families). At the same time, there was a need to develop the concept of pedagogy in nature to maximise its potential with children with special needs. In order to respond in a structured and sustainable way to these new challenges, APEMH wanted to meet organisations that have developed innovative practices and tools in order to exchange ideas, get inspiration and develop new partnerships.