Working Together to Transform Early Education and Care: ISSA strengthens its partnership with UNICEF

Over the past 10 years, in addition to its ongoing partnership with the Open Society Institute (OSI), ISSA has enjoyed a growing and mutually beneficial partnership with UNICEF, both at the country and international level.  ISSA member organizations in countries throughout the network have partnered with national UNICEF representative education officers to bring about positive change.  The cooperation has blended UNICEF’s technical expertise and high level relationships with national governments with ISSA members’ cutting edge knowledge of quality early education programming and practice, as well as grass-roots relationships with schools, to transform education systems throughout the region.   From designing Early Learning Development Standards (ELDS) at the national level, to developing informal education opportunities for children not served by formal preschools, to international advocacy, ISSA, OSI and UNICEF have joined efforts to bring about positive change in early education throughout the CEE/CIS region.

UNICEF and ISSA’s close cooperation was most recently in evidence at ISSA’s 9th Annual Conference in Budapest, Hungary, which provided a forum for the regional networks of both organizations to meet, share experiences, and brainstorm on future opportunities for cooperation.  ISSA was honored to have Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for CEE/CIS (Switzerland), open the conference with remarks about the best approach to advocate for stronger national commitments to early childhood.

Representatives of about 20 national UNICEF offices attended the event, and ISSA was honored to host UNICEF’s meeting of national ECD coordinators as a satellite event to the conference. ISSA and UNICEF representatives engaged in joint learning during the pre-conference skill-building seminars, which received very positive feedback from participants. UNICEF is also providing technical support to ISSA in the organizing of ISSA’s 10th Annual Conference in Bucharest, Romania (14-16 October).  Both organizations are cooperating with OSI and the Consultative Group for Early Childhood Care and Development in organizing a high level policy roundtable on 14 October, Investing in Early Childhood: the most effective use of a nation’s resources, as a satellite event to the conference.

Another successful manifestation of the partnership is the implementation of several study tours organized by UNICEF, the Open Society Foundation-London and ISSA in collaboration with the Institute of Education, University of London in Fall 2007 and Spring 2008. The main objectives of the study tour were to gain a first hand understanding of the role of rigorous research in shaping early childhood policy and influencing practice. Teams from 8 countries were made up of representatives of the Ministry of Education, ECD/Education/Step by Step NGOs and UNICEF, as well as representatives of the Health, Social Protection and Finance sectors, and academics from higher education institutions.  Country teams were selected on the basis of several predetermined criteria as well as the quality of joint (Government x SbS x UNICEF) proposals they submitted and the commitment they expressed with respect to follow up activities. Each team developed a detailed profile of ECD in their country which listed principal challenges and opportunities; these profiles were shared with the presenters in advance of the study tour. Through meeting experts, researchers, administrators, and practitioners, country teams had the opportunity to develop an understanding of the UK's comprehensive approach to early childhood development and education, the emphasis on standards, regulations and independent monitoring of quality, and the links between research, policy and practice. Copies of presentations made by experts from the UK during the study tour may be found on: http://www.issa.nl/news_ecd_uk.html.

UNICEF and ISSA members have a very positive history of joint projects and work.  Some projects are highlighted below.

 

Early Learning Development Standards (ELDS)

In the countries of Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, UNICEF and Step by Step NGOs have worked together to draft, pilot, and implement Early Learning Development Standards.  ELDS aim to help countries improve services to young children and their families by defining certain expectations for knowledge and abilities that children should have before they enter primary school.  In Armenia, Georgia, and Tajikistan, UNICEF has worked closely with ISSA member NGOs to design ELDS which reflect local cultures and values.  In Armenia, the cooperation has been most developed, with the Step by Step Benevolent Foundation of Armenia (SBSBF) working since 2005 on creating ELDS for children ages 5-6 in close cooperation with and with funding from UNICEF.  Since then, SBSBF has validated the content of the standards, and they are now working to integrate ELDS into the everyday practice of early childhood teachers.   In 2009, SBSBF-Armenia is continuing their project with UNICEF to develop ELDS for ages 3-4. 

The close cooperation among UNICEF, ISSA and its members at the regional level has allowed close-knit integration of the ELDS efforts in several other countries, with SBSBF-Armenia and UNICEF representatives sharing the Armenian experience and acting as regional trainers. 

 

Joint Advocacy

At the national level, ISSA and its members work closely with the local UNICEF office, OSI and other partners to advance common advocacy goals in raising the quality of early childhood education and care.  UNICEF has worked closely with ISSA members. OSI and other partners in Moldova and, more recently, in Kyrgyzstan, on reforming the early education sector through the multi-donor Education for All/Fast Track Initiative. 

 

Serving the Underserved: Providing Quality Early Education and Care for Children with No Access to Formal Preschools

With its broad mandate to holistically protect and nurture the development of children, from quality education and care, to health and well-being, UNICEF is able to uniquely bring together players from across sectors in a country to complement the activities that ISSA members are implementing in the early education and care sector. As ISSA’s members piloted and began implementing programs to help parents who live in areas with little or no access to preschools to assist their children prepare for primary school, collaboration with UNICEF enabled several countries to bring early education practitioners together with health care practitioners and community members to ensure that families in need were reached.  Successful joint projects were implemented in Moldova and Albania, to name two.

ISSA and its members look forward to closer and closer cooperation in the future in pursuit of the shared mission to ensure quality care and education for all children in the region.  ISSA is eager to continue its work with UNICEF, OSI and other partners to strengthen a broad, powerful professional and advocacy ECD network in the region.