Established in 1993, The Association for the Development of Education in Africa’s Working Group on ECD (WGECD/ ADEA) has been operational as a network since 1997. Its aim is to influence policy around the development of the young child and thereby contribute to expanding and improving sustainable and appropriate ECD provision in Africa. Its overall objective is to work as a catalyst in the Sub-Saharan Africa region to promote a coherent and coordinated response to the challenges facing ECD in that part of the world.
Other main objectives of the ADEA-WGECD include:
- Advocacy and awareness creation around ECD
- Support to national ECD policy development
- Collaboration with partners on costing of ECD policies
- Support to capacity building for ECD in Africa
- Networking and Partnership building
- Stimulating research and knowledge creation
- Virtual resource centre for dissemination of information, list-serve focal points, ECDVU alumni, etc
Since 1997 several African countries have developed ECD policies and implemented a number of effective programmes with donor and international support. With the increasing realisation that cost-effective ECD interventions can reduce the long-term costs of not investing in ECD, there is a challenge to continue to work towards increasing access to quality ECD interventions, especially by the most vulnerable.
The WGECD/ADEA has developed, with its members and partners, a Regional Framework/Plan of Action for 2006-10. The Work Plan’s main strategies include:
• Advocacy at the political level, including heads of state, regional political bodies in the US, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)
• A regional communication strategy
• Networking and partnership building
• Capacity building
• National policy support
In conjunction with this approach the current Work Plan is structured around the Consultative Group’s 4 Cornerstones to Secure a Strong Foundation for Young Children:
• Cornerstone 1--The Working Group’s Regional Framework, Strategy 4.1 includes support for parental education and functional adult literacy programmes, “ensuring ECD contents
• Cornerstone 2-- In relation to the Sub-Saharan Africa context, this cornerstone is translated in the Regional Framework’s Strategy 4.5 Report as “supporting scaling up for IECD programmes.”
• Cornerstone 3-- The Working Group’s Regional Framework will support capacity building at the national level. They will work with partners on initiatives such as the Early Childhood Virtual University (ECDVU.org), African Virtual University, and the UNESCO initiative of mapping universities (i.e., deliver ECD programmes by distance), as well as all African universities delivering ECD programmes.
• Cornerstone 4--The Regional Framework has developed 4 strategies in response to cornerstone 4. Future work from WGECD/ADEA will reinforce the assets and results of this joint collaboration at national and regional levels.
The first National Focal Points meeting in September 2008 allowed the WGECD/ADEA to continue in adapting the Consultative Group’s 4 Cornerstones to the Sub-Saharan Africa context, based on national and regional expertise. This coordination with a global network will ensure for success in moving forward.
The WGECD is currently hosted by Save the Children. To strengthen the WG Steering Committee and to ensure linkages with the political agenda, UNESCO Breda (based in Dakar, Senegal) is the current chair of the WGECD. This ensures the political leverage of the Working Group, as well as coverage of both East/Southern and West/Central Africa and the two major languages, French and English.
For more information, contact:
Bonita Birungi
Focal Point Resource Person
B.Brungi@sciug.org
E-mail: wgecdafrica@gmail.com
Website: http://www.ecdafrica.com/ OR http://www.adeanet.org/
