Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/a-new-world-of-advocacy-for-children-world-forum-2000-sparks-advocacy-initiatives/5013562/
The World Forum on Early Care and Education was an unforgettable experience for the 500 participants from more than 40 countries. The opportunity to share ideas, resources, and best practices on hundreds of child care issues; the quality and level of the discussion; and the depth of the knowledge of the participants made for a unique exchange. One of the highlights of the Forum was a remarkable unanimity of spirit and purpose. Nowhere was that spirit more unified than around issues of advocacy for child care.What started as one of the many stimulating conference dialogues - focusing around advocacy and fundraising - led to a groundswell of enthusiasm and commitment to develop a unified approach to dealing with common issues of child care concerns. From Kenya to Australia and from Malaysia to the United States, common themes of child care need were expressed by conference participants from highly diverse perspectives. Government officials, center directors, child care chain owners, and researchers in early childhood realized that they could be helped by the successes and experiences of others in attempting to remedy child care challenges in their own regions or nations. The groups began to work on a strategy to involve the World ...