What Are YOU Going to Do for Global Action Week on Early Childhood Education?

One of GPE’s civil society partners, the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) is the sponsor of Global Action Week which this year is focusing on early childhood education. Millions of people around the world are mobilizing throughout the week to demand their right to education and call on their governments to expand efforts to provide quality basic education, including early childhood development opportunities.

All children deserve an equal chance in life, and early childhood education is key to their success. The Early Childhood Consultative Group (ECCD) has outlined its principles for ensuring all children have chance at success, including “opportunities to explore, discover, and learn.”

Here at GPE we are announcing today our High-Level Technical Workshop in Athens, Greece June 4-6 on Improving the Quality of Early Childhood Education Services for All in the Europe and Central Asia Region, delivered in close cooperation with UNICEF.   We hope to have country teams from Moldova, Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan, Mongolia, Albania, Turkey, and around 15 other countries from the region to share lessons and good practices.  Additional partners for the event include the World Bank,  OECD, EU, Save the Children, International Step by Step Association, Aga Khan Foundation and others. More information about the event will be posted here later this month.

So, we ask again, what are you going to do this week to take action for early childhood education?  We have a few suggestions, so please take a look at the menu below:

• Go to the Global Action Week website and sign the petition GAW website to sign up  for the campaign. Register your activities on the Global Action Week site at the special registration page for GCE Members: http://globalactionweek.org/coalitions/register  and don’t forget to upload your Big Pictures at www.globalactionweek.org.
• Visit UNESCO’s website to view its many Global Action Week activities.
• Take a look at the podcast on UNICEF’s site entitled ‘Beyond School Books’ – a podcast series on education in emergencies, this week highlighting early childhood education.”
• If you or your members are active on social media including Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, please watch for GCE global updates: Twitter:@globaleducation, #GAW2012,  #education, #educationforall — Facebook: Global Campaign for Education,  Pinterest: GCE,  and please follow GCE’s “The Big Picture board.”

Other global activities shared by GCE include:

Austria

Light for the World has organized a series of events. A national highlight event will see politicians and celebrities join children at the Austrian theatre for children. There will be performances from children who will present pictures after which politicians and celebrities will talk about their first positive experiences with education. As ‘Light for the World’ works especially with people with disabilities the focus will be on the rights of children with disabilities. Among the resource materials being used for this year’s campaign is the positive picture story about an Ethiopian girl with cerebral palsy who has now learned to walk and is enjoying being in school.

Germany

The coalition has come up with a new slogan: “Weltklasse! An die Stifte, fertig, los!” There will be a professional graffiti workshop on 9th June where a large canvas will be designed by students in the context of the biggest youth fair in Germany. More than 200 schools have registered for the Big Picture events. Children in kindergartens all over the country have been asked to draw pictures on postcards with the words: “My wish for the world´s children….”

Tanzania

Local government leaders will be joining children at a national exhibition to launch Global Action week in the capital Dodoma. The exhibitions will showcase children’s artwork including pictures and drawings. At the end of GAW, children will participate in displaying the big picture in terms of photographs and drawings with messages indicating the need to have a guiding policy on ECCE. The results from the event will be well documented and shared with the parliamentarians during the advocacy sessions.

Palestine

The Palestinian Coalition for a Safe Learning and Teaching Environment held a workshop, attended by approximately 20 participants from various West Bank governorates. The goal of the workshop, part of the activities of the Global Campaign for Education, was to provide the media with information about the childhood reality in Palestine, and to introduce the Global Campaign for Education and its activities. The workshop was opened by Mrs. Intisar Hamdan, manager of the social responsibility program at the Teacher Creativity Center. Mrs. Afaf Mazara’ from the Palestinian Medical Relief Society talked about medical conditions emphasizing the need to provide periodical health check-ups to kindergartens.

Argentina

In Argentina, men and women will be drawing pictures expressing situations in which they felt well cared for as children. The Argentine campaign has also funded the painting of murals depicting care for children and these will be exhibited in all parts of the country. There will also be a video show at the Confederation of Education Workers where drawings and videos taken throughout the country will be displayed.

Bolivia

There will be a national forum to discuss the findings of research on the state of early childhood care and education in Bolivia. Other activities by the Bolivian Campaign for the Right to Education include a collection of drawings during Global Action Week, music and theatrical performances. A roundtable discussion with national authorities is also on the agenda during the week, with follow up discussions throughout the following month.

Brazil

In Brazil discussions will be centered on the importance of public funding for early childhood care and education of children, especially those who are marginalized and discriminated against. The Brazilian campaign has prepared two proposals for advocacy in Brasilia during the national congressional sitting in May as well as a recreational activity bringing together children of different ages, adults and government representatives. The activity will be centered on making a big painting depicting the needs for development in infancy.

Solomon Islands

The coalition will celebrate GAW to coincide with the Pacific Arts of Festival, which will be held in June and July. This event will bring all of the countries in the Pacific Ocean to the Solomon Islands so this will be an opportunity to raise awareness on ECCE in the region. During GAW, the coalition has plans to support one community school with a smaller event.

Colombia

In Colombia the coalition will be focusing on early childhood care and education as a human right. They have set aside the entire month of April as the “Month for children and non discrimination”. During Global Action Week the campaign will call for a national law making early childhood care and education mandatory as a public service. Other activities include press releases, videos and radio programs. The coalition is also sending a letter to local governments and secretaries of education urging them to prioritize early childhood care and education.

Peru

The Peruvian campaign has set as its main objective highlighting the importance of promoting and protecting the rights of children though the development of a comprehensive program. Activities under this banner will be a national highlight on the ‘Big Picture’ where children in day care, early education centers, primary and non-formal education groups will take pictures, paint or draw scenes related to their educational experience. This will produce a mural of paintings showing the different experiences that will be shared with local authorities.

United States

The GCE U.S. campaign will be highlighting the importance of early childhood education at a briefing Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC featuring experts from Save the Children and the Brookings Institute. The GPE’s Chair Carol Bellamy will also be on the panel. The U.S. campaign also visited Capitol Hill earlier in the week. On Monday, April 23, Junior Girl Scouts Troop 1567, Council of the Nation’s Capital of Fairfax, Virginia kicked off Global Action Week by delivering boxes of cookies to members of Congress to thank them for their support of education. The girls visited 30 offices including that of Representative Nita Lowey who introduced the Education for All Act.

For more information visit: http://www.campaignforeducation.org/