ARNEC is pleased to host the webinar series titled, 'Nurturing care for young children: seeking solutions for addressing disparities heightened by the impact of COVID-19'. ARNEC aims to mobilize the ECD community in the region, particularly practitioners, policymakers, and advocates at the country level, to share community, local and/or country-level solutions that adapt nurturing care practices and ECD programmes to the current realities and long-term effects of COVID-19.

This first webinar in the series focuses on early learning opportunities for young children in the Asia-Pacific region during and beyond the pandemic.

The following questions shall be explored:

1. What challenges did the pandemic introduce in the delivery of early learning services, especially for the most vulnerable groups?

2. What are the long-term effects of COVID-19 on early learning opportunities and readiness for school based on experience from other similar crisis situations in the past?

3. What policy changes or developmental interventions are being designed or implemented to support home-, facility-, and institution-based early learning opportunities in the context of pandemic adjustments?

Panellists:

1) Dr Kate Moriarty, Senior Advisor, Strategic Engagement & Dialogue, Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)

2) Rokhaya Diawara, Education Programme Specialist and Global Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Adviser at UNESCO headquarters

3) Karma Gayleg, ECCD Specialist, Ministry of Education, Bhutan

4) Nikki Reyes, Planning Officer, ECCD Council of the Philippines

Moderator: Mita Gupta, Early Childhood Development Specialist, UNICEF ROSA

Click here for the summary and evaluation report of the webinar. Click here to download the presentation slides deck. The recording of the webinar is now available on ARNEC's YouTube channel .