Learning How We Can All Make A Difference In The Life of A Child

What an amazing week this has been! I have just returned from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where I attended the World Forum on Early Care and Education, an international conference bringing together approximately 600 representatives from over 70 nations around the world to discuss children’s issues. The topics ranged from local efforts to support orphans and displaced children from AIDS in Africa to a insightful keynote on the essential elements of great teachers by Dr. Lilian Katz, one of the most influential leaders in early childhood education and teacher education, to a rousing call to action on behalf of children around the world by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.

I had the opportunity to moderate a panel on ways to enhance parental involvement in early childhood centers and the development of improved parenting skills, particularly of families living in poverty. The panel described programs from Hong Kong, Ireland, Ghana, the United States, and an international outreach program for parents, Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, which is currently used in approximately a dozen countries and 25 states throughout the United States.

I would like to thank my colleagues, Dr. Pam Boulton, University of Madison-Wisconsin;, Marvin Schwartz, Executive Director of HIPPY, USA; Noel Kelly, Preparing for Life, Northside Partnership; and Karen Ferris Cole, Sunshine House, Hong Kong, for sharing their insights and experiences with me and conference participants.

While it is impossible to summarize the content of the approximately 300 speakers in over 100 sessions, there were some strong messages that were heralded throughout the conference.

• Children are the most vulnerable citizens and they depend on adults to develop the skills and dispositions to become positive participants in our ever more complex world.
• There are universal challenges that children face including hunger, disease, the devastating effects of HIV/AIDs, poverty, abuse, and abandonment—and these problems are found to different degrees in most, if not all, nations in the world.
• Despite the magnitude of these issues and the sometimes irreversible damage that can be done if not addressed at the earliest stages of life, there is an amazing network of passionate and committed individuals as well as private and public agencies, who work tirelessly in support of improving the lives of children. And there are many successful models that have been shown to have a significant positive impact in children’s development in both the long and short run.
• There is a profound need to better recognize, train, support, and compensate those who dedicate their lives to our children. The world is facing a severe shortage of qualified teachers of children of all ages, and we must enhance our efforts to provide those who are committed to improving the lives of children with the skills and training they need to be effective in their varying roles.
• Although there have been improvements in some areas in the status of children as reported in the United Nations 2008 status report of The Millennium Development Goals discussed in an earlier posting on the Week of the Young Child. There was also discussion of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is an international convention that lays out the rights of children and requires reporting on the status of child rights in each ratifying country. Interestingly, although this convention has been ratified by nearly 200 countries, the United States is one of only two nations in the United Nations that has not ratified this convention. Somalia is the other nation.
• Not only does our country have an obligation to lead the world in supporting the growth and development of our children, as has been previously discussed in a May posting, investments in education produce significant and unmatched financial returns and benefits to society. One would be hard pressed to identify any other opportunity where social, moral, and economic benefits are so closely aligned.

This week was a remarkable opportunity to learn and share and to see old friends and make new ones. While at times it was disheartening to confront the magnitude of the challenges facing children around the world, that was more than offset by the passion and relentless efforts of those who will not rest until these issues are addressed.

I am ever more confident that we have it within our power to improve the lives of children around the world. But to do so we must respect, honor, and work tirelessly on behalf of all children and those who have committed their lives as parents or professionals to making a positive difference in the life of a child.

So I return to work refueled, renewed, and grateful to have shared a wonderful week with some of the most inspirational and profoundly dedicated individuals I have ever met.