OPPORTUNITY FOR A PROGRAMME OFFICER!!

AfECN   would like to recruit a Programme Officer to support its work in strengthening multisectoral advocacy and sub-regional coordination mechanism in WCAR.  The broader tasks include i) supporting stronger engagement of regional and national ECD partners; contributing to improved organizational and advocacy capacities of National Advocacy Partners (NAPs); increased knowledge generation on Early Childhood Education and dissemination across the region.

Contract: 1 year (Renewable based on performance and availability of funds)

Working Hours: Full time – 37.5 hours a week

Location: Dakar, Senegal

Application procedure: Interested candidates who meet the desired qualifications should submit cover letter, Curriculum Vitae (CV), motivation statement (max 2 pages), testimonials, copies of academic transcripts as a single PDF document to careers@afecn.org. Only successful candidates will be contacted.

Application Deadline: 22nd August 2023

Call for Expressions of Interest for Early Childhood Development Advocacy Groups/Networks

Call for Expressions of Interest for Early Childhood Development Advocacy Groups/Networks

📢Are you a grassroots advocacy group seeking to make a difference in the development of young children?

We are currently accepting application for seed grants to support your efforts.

⏳: 14 SEPTEMBER 2023

PROMOTING PLAYFUL PARENTING THROUGH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY: A CASE OF ZAMBIA

Play is the way children learn. When caregivers connect and interact with children in a stimulating, enjoyable, and emotionally safe atmosphere, they have a chance to develop amazing skills, knowledge attitudes and relationships. It is therefore critical to include strategies of promoting playful parenting in ECD policies and programmes. In this regard, we celebrate a key milestone in the inclusion of playful parenting in the revised communications strategy (2022-2025) for the Directorate of Early Childhood Education, Ministry of Education, Republic of Zambia. The African Early Childhood Network (AfECN) is delighted to have collaborated with the Ministry of Education (Republic of Zambia), and other key partners with support from the LEGO Foundation. The strategy covers the period 2022-25 and identifies critical challenges and potential strategies for effective communication to support expansion for equitable access, improve quality as well as strengthen systems for delivery of quality ECD at scale. One of the objectives of the strategy is to promote the understanding of ECE/ECD and Playful Parenting and their linkage to education and development. More about the strategy can be found Click Here…

Advocacy Corner

National communications strategies for ECD provide the basis upon which information concerning ECD policies and programmes are disseminated to stakeholders both internally and externally-by encouraging stakeholder participation and ownership, facilitating exchange of information, strengthening coordination and delivery of ECD programmes; and encouraging feedback from beneficiaries on the impact of ECD programmes.

Communications and Publicity Officer Position

To ensure efficient and effective communication with all stakeholders at global, regional and national level, AfECN seeks to recruit a Communications & Publicity Officer. This position will primarily support the development, implementation and monitoring of our internal and external communications strategy, the writing and dissemination of publicity materials, active engagement with the media and co-ordination of AfECN events and conferences.

Send a cover letter and CV expressing your interest to careers@afecn.org and indicate the position title in the subject of the email by 10 February 2023. Successful applicants shall be contacted and invited for an interview.

Senior Program and Partnership Manager Position

Reporting to the executive director, the senior program manager will be responsible for overseeing effective delivery of all AfECN programmes. The specific areas of focus include guiding programmatic delivery, leading program strategy implementation, grant management, fundraising and stakeholder engagement.

If interested and you meet the desired qualifications, please submit the following to hr@afecn.org under the subject ‘Application for Senior Programme Manager Position’ by 17th February 2023:

• A cover letter,

• Curriculum Vitae (CV),

• Motivation statement (max 2 pages),

Testimonials, copies of academic transcripts as a single PDF document.

Only successful candidates will be contacted.

Improving early childhood development in the context of the nurturing care framework in Kenya: A policy review and qualitative exploration of emerging issues with policy makers

The Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) describes “nurturing care” as the ability of nations and communities to support caregivers and provide an environment that ensures children's good health and nutrition, protects them from threats, and provides opportunities for early learning through responsive and emotionally supportive interaction. We assessed the extent to which Kenyan government policies address the components of the NCF and explored policy/decision makers' views on policy gaps and emerging issues. Read More…

ACTION NEEDED TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUNG CHILDREN NOW & FOR THE FUTURE GENERATIONS

Globally, almost every child on earth (99%) is exposed to at least one major climate and environmental hazards, shocks, and stress. Africa, despite its low contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, remains the most vulnerable continent to climate change. Indeed, seven of the 10 countries that are most vulnerable to climate change are in Africa exposing close to 490 million children in 35 African countries to highest risk of suffering the impact of climate change. As a build up to the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the UNFCCC that will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, read more about the actions needed to protect the environment for young children now and for the future generation. read more…

Interventions that Matter Start with Local Cultures: Issues and Strategies in Early Childhood Care and Education Interventions in Africa

Interventions that Matter Start with Local Cultures: Issues and Strategies in Early Childhood Care and Education Interventions in Africa

Child development is a biocultural project, as caregivers seek to raise their children to be successful in their unique cultural environment. Developmental milestones, dynamics, and pathways vary across cultures. As such, early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs have a responsibility to ensure relevance to, and ownership by, beneficiary children and caregivers. The rise of so-called global frameworks for ECCE often inadvertently serve to characterize communities in non-Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) countries (and in Africa in particular) as lacking conducive home environments and knowledge to support optimal child development. The research underpinning these frameworks largely originated from WEIRD contexts. We assert that basing ECCE programming on these frameworks neglects indigenous wisdom and replicates cultural imperialism. Community ownership in ECCE programming helps promote respect for human agency of the beneficiaries, avoid colonialism of concepts and procedures, build upon local resources, and meet real community needs. This ultimately bolsters the success and sustainability of ECCE programmes. Read more…