Africa Conference on Childcare
Call for Research Papers/Proposals
Deadline: 30 May 2025
The African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with the African Early Childhood Network (AfECN) is co- convening the Continental Childcare Conference , to be held in Addis Ababa 18th -20th June 2025, under the theme Building Partnerships for Accelerating Action towards Quality & Inclusive Childcare in Africa.
Scientific evidence has enhanced understanding of early brain development and the importance of childcare, in the early formative period (0-3 years). Expanding quality childcare yields numerous benefits at various levels: it influences the cognitive, social, and emotional development of young children, it allows women, to participate effectively in the labour force thereby enhancing women's economic empowerment while improving household income and financial stability and enables older siblings to focus on their education instead of providing care to their young siblings. At societal level, quality childcare leads to greater workforce participation and therefore enhanced productivity. Despite these benefits, there remains a concerning lack of access to quality childcare services, particularly in low and lower-middle-income. According to the World Bank , approximately 350 million children below-school-entry age need but have no access to quality affordable childcare.
The Africa Conference on Childcare is being organized to consolidate ongoing efforts in childcare, among AU Member States and to elevate these conversations to a regional platform for more reach. The convening will provide a platform to showcase the gains made so far, draw lessons from the implementation of childcare initiatives and national dialogues, enable the actors to network and learn from one another and to create a platform for conceptualization of a contextually relevant framework for operationalizing childcare services on the continent.
AfECN is calling for submission of research/programme abstracts for consideration. Accepted submissions will be given space to be presented in the parallel sessions of the conference.
The conference will bring together a diverse group of regional and national actors including policy makers, researchers, CSOs, academia, funders, Childcare practitioners, government ministries, agencies and partners. By attending and participating in this conference, you will join and interact with leading experts and stakeholders, providing exciting opportunities to exchange, learn and network.
Proposal Details
Focus Areas:
This call is for abstracts of childcare research & programmes undertaken in Africa, in the following thematic areas:
Innovative childcare models
Fatherhood and men’s participation in child care
Workforce development for Childcare
Policy for Quality & Inclusive Childcare.
All Abstract should be a maximum of 300 words in the format below:
Paper Title
Research questions/ programme challenge that it addresses.
Methodology/modelling technique(s) used.
Key Findings/Results
Conclusions and recommendations.
Successful proposals will be required to present at the Africa Childcare Conference through a 15 minutes presentation.
Submission Deadline: Kindly submit your abstract to conference@afecn.org on or before 30th May 2025.
Proposal Review: The proposals will be judged by reviewers constituted by AfECN. The proposal will be judged against the following criteria:
Originality: We’re looking for innovative approaches/models or cutting-edge research abstracts.
Application: Can your work be used to advance policy dialogue and actions at regional and national levels; as well as make better decisions or be the basis for ECD research/programming?
Feasibility: Are the recommendations realistic in an African context? Can they be implemented based on the prevailing challenges in the region?
Nature of presentation: The presentation will be made through physical presentation (in powerpoint). Remote presentations will be considered only in exceptional cases
Candidates will be informed at the latest by Friday 6th June 2025, whether or not their proposal has been accepted. The deadline for submission of the final papers & presentation slides is Friday 13th June 2025 ahead of the conference on 18th -20th June 2025.
Selected speakers will receive a template to guide their presentation and research paper.
There is no virtual participation for the conference.
Kindly note all selected presenters shall cover their own costs to the conference.
If you have any questions, please email conference@afecn.org