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World conference on early childhood care and education, Moscow, Russia, 27-29 September 2010

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Author: 
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Format: 
Report
Publication Date: 
1 Sep 2010

Background

Following extended consultations, the 35th Session of UNESCO's General Conference in October 2009 adopted Resolution 35 C/Resolution 15 to hold the first ever World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education (WCECCE) in Moscow City, the Russian Federation, in the fall of 2010 (Annex). The WCECCE will be held as a joint collaboration between UNESCO and the Russian Federation.

The Resolution finds its roots in global normative and operational instruments relating to the holistic development of young children. Key among these are: (i) the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) which obligates Member States to ensure to the fullest possible extent the survival and development of the child; (ii) the World Declaration on Education for All (EFA) (1990), which recognizes that learning begins at birth and as such, Member States should provide for early childhood care and education (ECCE); (iii) the Dakar Framework of Action (2000), which calls for the expansion and improvement of comprehensive ECCE -- particularly, though not exclusively, for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children -- as the very first goal towards achieving EFA.

Goals and objectives of the conference

The overarching goals of the WCECCE are to:

(i) reaffirm ECCE as a right of all children and as the basis for development; (ii) take stock of the progress of Member States towards achieving the EFA Goal 1; (iii) identify binding constraints toward making the intended equitable expansion of access to quality ECCE services; (iv) establish, more concretely, benchmarks and targets for the EFA Goal 1 toward 2015 and beyond (v) identify key enablers that should facilitate Member States to reach the established targets; and (vi) promote global exchange of good practices.

The specific objectives are to:

(i) heighten global awareness and policy dialogue on ECCE as a fundamental human right and its relevance to individual and national development and prosperity; (ii) share applicable lessons of good practice; (iii) discuss the progress in achieving the EFA Goal 1, identify binding constraints that limit the progress, agree on a set of benchmarks and targets for the Goal 1 that Member States should work toward and set up a mechanism for monitoring these benchmarks and targets; (iv) discuss critical requisite instruments for guiding the scaling up of equitable provision of quality and comprehensive ECCE services, including policy, strategic, institutional, financing, implementation frameworks; (v) discuss programmatic and operational elements of effective ECCE services, such as a conceptual and programme framework for holistic child development, important competencies of educators, caregivers and other ECCE (para)professionals, elements for assuring quality of services, including assessment and impact evaluation; and (vi) identify areas in which capacity building is required by Member States, subregions and regions, and discuss concrete ways of assisting the required capacity-building.

Online resources for the conference

Conference concept paper

Regional reports (Arab countries, Asia Pacific region, Europe and North America, Latin America)

Videos

Region: