The Latin American Network of the Consultative Group on ECCD meets every three to four years to identify ECCD priorities in the region. The Fourth Meeting of the Network was held in Panama June 27-29, 2006. Attendees included representatives of international organisations, worldwide networks, universities, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and other ECCD stakeholders in Latin America. During this gathering, possibilities were explored for collaborative actions to strengthen ECCD and affect public policy processes in Latin America. National and local experiences from Brazil, Nicaragua, Chile, Colombia, and Guatemala provided an overview of the situation of children and families in the region.
The meeting allowed for an interchange of experiences, knowledge acquisition, and encounters with actions that are happening in the region regarding public policy development. When the Consultative Group developed/launched the 4 Cornerstones to Secure a Strong Foundation for Young Children (i.e., “Include early childhood in policies”) in October 2006 the Technical Secretariat of the Centro Internacional de Educación y Desarrollo Humano (CINDE) adapted the Latin American Network’s working plan (developed at the Panama meeting), to reflect them. The working plan is even broader, however, and aims to strengthen links between education, health, nutrition, protection, and children’s participation.
The Network’s highest priority until 2009, which relates to Cornerstone 4, is to support regional organizations and countries in Latin America in the design and implementation of national and sub-national ECCD policies. Furthermore, the Network has developed strategies associated with Cornerstone 3, to “Improve primary school quality”. However, the Network acknowledges the many challenges ahead, and will continue to strive to overcome these.
For more information, contact:
Alejandro Acosta
Regional Director, CINDE Technical
Secretariat E-mail: aacosta@cinde.org.co
