Inclusive ECCD: - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...

Activities
of the
Secretariat
helped to facilitate a three-week Institute in <strong>ECCD</strong>, held at the
University of Namibia, which brought together 26 participants from
eleven African countries (including representatives of NGOs, their
government counterparts, and UNICEF personnel), funded by
UNICEF. ECDNA also facilitated a meeting in Cape Town, South
Africa in December 1997, which looked at policy and programming
for children 0–3 in Africa (in collaboration with the World Bank and
UNICEF). The second part of the meeting focused on the evolution
of the ECDNA network. Out of this meeting, plans were evolved for
1998-99.
These plans include the documentation and dissemination of the three
case studies presented in the Cape Town meeting, targeting policy
makers, programme planners, and implementers. The group would
like to carry out a joint Action Research project in three to five countries,
looking at the socialisation of the girl child (and building upon work
completed in an international study of this topic facilitated by the
CG in 1996, using participants in the earlier study from Morocco and
Mali as facilitators). ECDNA coordinated an <strong>ECCD</strong> Institute
(“Summer School”) for Francophone West Africa in November 1998
in collaboration with the UNICEF regional office in Abidjan.
Central Asia: Ayla Göksel
Mother Child Education Foundation
Cumhuriyet Cad. No 18/4
Elmadag Istanbul, TURKEY
Tel: (90-212) 234-0200; Fax: (90-212) 234-0106
E-mail: acevist@turk.net
The first seeds have been sown in the establishment of an <strong>ECCD</strong> network
within Central Asia (including Uzbekistan, Kazakstan,
Tajikistan, Kurdistan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey).
Interested organisations and people working in the region have made
initial contacts, and a seed grant was received from the Aga Khan
Foundation to pursue a mapping of <strong>ECCD</strong> programmes and issues in
the region. Aga Khan Foundation will also contribute knowledge and
experience it has gained from its work in Tajikistan to the effort.
The countries in this region were mostly socialist but are now
experiencing shifts, which include the collapse of infrastructures and
changing economies. Health problems are prominent within the
region. It appears that little international mapping of the situation (or
development activity) for young children has been conducted, so
reaching out to find key people and institutions that are concerned
with <strong>ECCD</strong> is an important first step.
Plans for the region include collaborating in an International
Literacy meeting to be held in May 1999, to raise awareness of the
ways that literacy programmes can be used to strengthen parenting
practices and to support mothers. In addition, the Eight is Too Late fact
sheets produced by the CG have been translated into Turkish, and
UNESCO has agreed to translate them into Russian as well, to use as
a basis for initiating conversations with NGOs and governments
working in the region, and for promoting interest in a meeting to
look at needs of young children and their families.
Network Notes COORDINATORS’ NOTEBOOK, ISSUE 22
63