This global effort connects local voices to global action, with the goal of ensuring that every child has access to quality early childhood development, care, and preschool education — vital for holistic child development and lifelong wellbeing. It seeks to mobilize at least US$1 billion in new funding, raise political prioritization of the early years on national and global agendas, and ensure early childhood remains central in shaping future development goals.

The vision took center stage at the UNGA side event in New York, “Unlocking the Future: A Global Call to Invest in the Early Years,” co-hosted by UNICEF, the Government of South Africa, Theirworld, and Act for Early Years campaign partners. The gathering united leaders from governments, foundations, civil society, networks and international organizations. 

Ministers from South Africa, Brazil, Ukraine, and Sierra Leone, all champion countries of the campaign, joined UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell and Theirworld Chair Sarah Brown in urging the world to act now for young children. In a powerful act of solidarity, event participants signed copies of the “Minifesto”, a symbolic child-sized document of commitment in the Act for Early Years campaign that calls on leaders to prioritise investment in the early years. 

A major milestone of the campaign was also announced: the first-ever International Finance Summit for Early Childhood, planned for early 2027. The landmark event will bring together governments, donors, philanthropic actors, private-sector investors and civil society to make bold financing commitments, unlock new funding streams for under-fives and integrate early years into economic, social and development frameworks.

In the lead up to the summit, campaign partners will mobilize at least US$1 billion in new funding and raise political prioritisation of early childhood both globally and locally. A key focus will be linking local/national actors, regional networks and the global architecture in pursuit of coherence, scale and equity.

Among the speakers was Liana Ghent, Executive Director of ISSA, who spoke on behalf of the five Early Childhood Regional Networks: AfECN, ANECD, ARNEC, ISSA, and Somos Crianza, collectively spanning more than 100 countries. In her remarks, Liana Ghent emphasized that while investment in early childhood is often framed around programmes and policies, “behind all of these, there is something less visible yet absolutely essential: networks.” She described networks as “the infrastructure that allows collaboration to thrive,” spaces for building capacity, sharing knowledge, and mobilizing communities for collective action. “Networks are the connective tissue, the glue that holds together diverse organizations and individuals,” she said, calling for their work to be recognized as “visible and vital drivers of change.” The strength of the Regional Networks lies in their ability to bridge local realities with global agendas, ensuring that early childhood development strategies are grounded in context and shaped through collective learning.

As a member of the High-Level Advisory Group of the Act for Early Years campaign, ISSA joins other regional networks in amplifying advocacy, aligning efforts, and linking the local to the global. “The power of networks lies not only in connecting the early childhood field,” Liana Ghent concluded, “but in moving the field forward.”

Read Liana's full speech below.

The UNGA event set the stage for renewed global commitment to invest in the early years and for networks like ISSA to ensure that this global momentum translates into lasting change for young children and families everywhere.

Join us and be part of this global movement: Act for Early Years!

 

Read Liana's full speech here: 
 

Speech on behalf of the Regional Networks at the Act for Early Years campaign public event – September 23, 2025, New York

It is an honour for me to speak on behalf of the five Regional Networks: AfECN, ANECD, ARNEC, ISSA and Somoz Crianza. Between us, we cover well over 100 countries: connecting and supporting local organizations and national networks; working with local and national governments; and engaging closely in partnerships with continental bodies. 

When we talk about investing in the early years, we often think of programs, policies, and resources. But behind all of these, there is something less visible yet absolutely essential: networks.

Networks are the infrastructure that allows collaboration to thrive. They provide the space for us to build capacity, share knowledge, and strengthen one another. And perhaps most importantly, networks are able to mobilize communities for collective action — bringing voices together in ways that no single actor could achieve alone.

They are the connective tissue, the glue that holds together diverse organizations and individuals. Too often this work is invisible. We must recognize networks not just as enablers, but as visible and vital drivers of change – drivers of a powerful movement for young children.

It is encouraging to see broader recognition of the fact that what makes networks uniquely powerful is their ability to bridge silos, to link local realities with global agendas, and to create a multiplier effect by aligning many different efforts toward a shared goal. Networks are adaptive, inclusive, and responsive — able to weave together diverse perspectives and capacities in ways that institutions working in isolation cannot.

This is especially important in early childhood development, which is by nature complex, and often in context of crisis. It spans health, education, nutrition, protection, and the family environment. No single sector, organization, or policy can meet all these needs. In fact, ECD demands that we think and act with a network mindset: collaborating across boundaries, building trust, and harnessing collective expertise to address the whole child and the whole early childhood system.

The Early Childhood Regional Networks mirror the early childhood system by connecting multiple layers: researchers, practitioners, civil society, and decision makers, across all sectors. This interconnectedness makes it possible to adapt global knowledge into locally grounded, systemic responses.

While global initiatives often risk imposing “models,”  as Regional and National Networks we  instead support processes, enabling countries and organisations to build solutions from within their own contexts. We facilitate horizontal learning (organisation-to-organisation, country-to-country, continent-to-continent) rather than only top-down transfer from the regional or global level.

As partners of this global campaign and working closely with various global networks and actors, we are committed to continue playing that role — of amplifying advocacy, of aligning our efforts, and of fuelling this great momentum. 

We are delighted to see that partners in the campaign recognize that funding the mechanisms that make networks able to do their job is not a luxury; it is a necessity for lasting impact.

The power of networks lies not only in connecting the early childhood field, but in moving the field forward. 

Liana Ghent, ISSA