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Global Webinar Series on Early Childhood Development and Climate Change: Learning Across Continents for Young Children’s right to a clean, safe, and sustainable environment

Webinar 1: Early Childhood Development as a Tool for Building Climate Change Resilience, Adaptation and Mitigation – Experiences from Asia Pacific and Africa

05.00hrs ET (GMT-4) | 09.00hrs UTC (GMT) | 12.00hrs EAT (GMT+3) | 20.00hrs SGT (GMT+8)

The climate crisis is a child’s rights crisis at its core. Protecting the youngest children across the globe is integral to the climate crisis response. This is the first in the series of global webinars on ECD and climate change from the Early Childhood Regional Networks - AfECN, ANECD, ARNEC and ISSA and Global Early Childhood Network ECDAN. With speakers from across the globe including youth advocates, climate experts and ECD practitioners, the webinar will explore the global impact of climate change and environmental degradation on young children, share some experiences from Africa and Asia Pacific regions, and agree on key messaging for COP27 (Egypt 7-18 Nov 2022 – Conference of the Parties, global climate summit), for the ECD and climate change agenda to include the youngest children in decision making.

 The webinar objectives are as follows:

  1. Share knowledge on the intersection between ECD and Climate Change and show how ECD is fundamental in addressing environmental issues:

    1. Explain how it is imperative that environmental knowledge and policy becomes part of our work in ECD

    2. Explain the impact of climate change and env. degradation on young children’s wellbeing and development aligned with NCF, and some promising practices.

  2. Build momentum for stakeholder engagements towards consideration of ECD agenda during the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the UNFCCC that will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, building consensus on messaging and aligning ECD with youth movement agenda on climate change.

  3. Peer learning across Africa and Asia Pacific region and regional ECD networks so far in terms of what has happened in Africa Region on the topic of ECD, CC.

  4. Share that this will be a series of webinars on this initiative and invite colleagues to join the movement.

Join us! Our Climate is Our Children’s Future!

Moderator

Joan Lombardi, Ph.D. is a Visiting Scholar, Graduate School of Education, Stanford Center on Early Childhood, Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, Georgetown University. Over the past 50 years Joan has made significant contributions in the areas of child and family policy as an innovative leader and policy advisor to national and international organizations and foundations and as a public servant. She serves on the Executive Leadership Council of the global Early Childhood Development Action Network and Chairs their Global Policy and Advocacy Advisory group and as Co-Chair of the Research Forum for Early Childhood in Emergencies, in collaboration with the Moving Minds Alliance

Joan served as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood during the Obama Administration and the first Director of the Child Care Bureau during the Clinton Administration. She was the founding Chair of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance (now the Alliance for Early Success).

Speaker

Speaker

Evelyn D. Santiago is the current Executive Director of Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC). She has more than 25 years of professional experience in development work encompassing child development, investment programming, strategic planning, project planning and design, programme management, grants development and partnership building. Prior to joining ARNEC, she spent 10 years working for ChildFund International in various management positions at Country Offices in the Philippines, Timor Leste and at the Asia Regional Office in Bangkok. She also worked previously with the German Technical Cooperation (now called GIZ) and with the Central Economic Planning Ministry of the Philippine Government. Evelyn has a Master of Arts degree in Economics of Development from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague, The Netherlands.

Dr. Adrián Cerezo is a social ecologist, environmental scientist and human development researcher. Currently he is considering the nexus between human and sustainable development from three perspectives: Early Childhood Development, Contemporary Social Art Practice, and Global Biodiversity Conservation. Dr. Cerezo holds a Ph.D. with a focus on Social Ecology and Developmental Science from Yale University, where he is also a fellow at Zigler Center for Early Childhood Development Policy. He is currently Knowledge Exchange Lead for ECDAN and serves as consultant for UNICEF global ECD programs.

Speaker

Rongedzayi Fambasayi - Managing Director, Play Africa is a passionate champion of children, play and inclusive cities. He is a children’s rights lawyer by training with over 10 years of progressive experience leading multi-country and multi-donor projects. He has a global outlook having previously worked with leading international and pan-African child rights organisations driving law reform, campaigns, and advocacy across Africa. Rongedzayi currently serves as an independent External Expert in the Working Group on Children's Rights and Climate Change of the African Union's Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, leading the continental agenda on mainstreaming a child-rights-based approach to climate action and ensure access to climate-justice for children.

Speaker

Winnie Cheche is an eco-blogger who is passionate about using communications to drive a positive environmental impact in the face of challenges posed by the climate crisis.

As the Communications Director for Kenya Environment Action Network, she executed a start-up strategy that has seen the movement become one of the most recognized environmental youth groups in Kenya.

She is currently a team leader for the YMA Going Green Initiative under the umbrella of the Young Muslims Association - an NGO pioneering ground-breaking eco-friendly practices in orphanages and promoting nature education among teenagers and youth.

Deena Maryam is a Doctor by profession and currently a resident of the United Arab Emirates, originally from India. She is very passionate about working for the welfare of people and her life dream is to attain Universal health care, she wishes to pursue her higher education in Global Health. She is also external Affairs lead at YOUNGO Health Working Group (official youth constituency of UNFCCC).