Second World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education to be held in Tashkent

An information session on the “Second World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)” was held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Dunyo correspondent reports.

According to the official website of UNESCO, the Second World Conference will be held November 14-16 in Tashkent. It aims to promote and strengthen the rights of all children to quality early childhood care and education by reaffirming countries’ commitment to and investment in Sustainable Development Goal 4.2. This Goal calls for ensuring that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.

As UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini stated, “Putting children at the center of the SDGs is a matter of rights, well-being, long-term development and intergenerational equity”. In this context, the main goal of the upcoming conference is to renew and expand the participation and political commitment of Member States in the development of ambitious, relevant and culturally acceptable ECCE policies, build effective and accountable systems, multi-stakeholder partnerships and services, and increase and improve investment in this sector as an important and integral part of countries’ strategies to build lifelong learning societies and achieve sustainable development.

“Uzbekistan’s high-level commitment and the mobilization of UNESCO’s leadership will ensure constructive discussions and the development of proposals from Member States following regional and national consultations, which will lead to the adoption of the final document during the conference - the Tashkent Declaration, which will become a framework for action in the coming years in ECCE with a focus on achieving the SDGs,” the message says.

It is noted that the process of preparation for the conference will be dynamic with the involvement of all stakeholders. The active participation of UNESCO regional and local offices and Member States is expected in the regional consultations in the coming months. These activities will result in Regional Outcomes that will be used in the development of the Tashkent Declaration. The objectives of the regional consultations are to highlight key ECCE issues, trends, challenges and opportunities, identify innovative methods and best practices, and develop recommendations at the regional level. In addition, the work of three statutory committees of the World Conference will be established:

It is emphasized that the upcoming event takes place 12 years after the unique World Conference to mobilize Member States, Associate Member Countries and the international community for early childhood care and education and strengthen our commitment to our children, our future.

“UNESCO and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan sincerely invite Member States, Associate Members and key partners to participate in the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education,” UNESCO concludes.