Getting to Know Your International Contacts--Part 2

Insightful information I gained from the Harvard University’s Global Children’s Initiative Website:

(1)   The Frontiers of Innovation (FOI) initiative and online community, developed by the Early Childhood Innovation Partnership.  Their design is to create cross-sector partnership and create high impact strategies for faster innovation in the field of early childhood programs and practices.  They do this by: Bringing people together with different areas of expertise; focusing on making a child ready to learn when they are ready for kindergarten; trying new things and taking risks; having a desire to go to the next level; and a better investment early on.

(2)   In understanding intervention it is important to know that “the basic science of early childhood and early brain development answers the “why” and “what” questions about investing in young children.  The applied science of intervention and program evaluation is essential to answer the “when” and “how” questions.”

(3)   The FrameWorks Institute emphasizes the importance of early intervention for children who experience symptoms of mental distress to help them avoid long-term adverse outcomes.  There are many stressors and environmental influences interacting with genetic predispositions that can cause the breakdown of unhealthy social and emotional development in early childhood that can endure through adulthood.  “The emergence of mental health concerns in young children occurs within the context of an environment of relationships that can include a child’s parents, relatives, caregivers, teachers, and peers.”

In my podcast I listened to Maysoun Chehab who is the Regional Early Childhood Development Program Coordinator at the Arab Resource Collective (ARC), a not-for-profit non-governmental organization based in Beirut, Lebanon.  She works along with practitioners and policymakers in raising awareness about early childcare and development.  They train early childhood workers on best practices.  They also work along with the parents and teachers on issues that affect child development.  Maysoun stated, “adults have to be supportive in order to support young children.”

I also learned that the World Forum Foundation have an organization called Global Leaders for Young Children.  Their goal is to “encourage participants to become more effective change agents ad advocates for quality early childhood development services in their home countries.”