1. Global Leaders for Young Children Lebanon Project BY Maysoun Chehab & Rana Ismail

2. Project Goals + Target Group Goal: To reach ECD professionals, practitioners, community representatives, and governmental bodies and raise their awareness regarding: • The importance of investing in ECD by focusing on: • ECD: Conception to eight • Transition from KG to primary • The importance of the holistic integrated approach to ECD • The issue of teachers preparation Target Group: Teacher preparation colleges/universities coordinators, NGOs and institutions, Community active Syndicates, PTAs, Governmental bodies, Municipalities, Media. Support Team: Group of six ECD advocates - the support team assisted in organizing , implementing, and evaluating the advocacy project. - Dr. Basma Faour – Assistance Professor at Hagazian University - Boushra Kadoura – ECD specialist and nursery director - Shaza Ismail – Adjunct lecturer and ECD Specialist - May Abou Ajram – ECCD Project Coordinator - May Darwich – Early Childhood Program Coordinator - Layal Mansour – Early Childhood Art Teacher

4. Steps of implementation Preparation phase: • Brainstorming and discussion with ARC pool of resource persons. • 3 brainstorming meetings between Maysoun and Rana • Advocacy project proposal • Short listing of our advocates team • 9 preps meeting with the support team • Cooperation with the Higher Council for Children - MOSA Outputs: • Our Children Zero to Eight- Booklet: drafting, editing, layout and design, printing, dissemination in the seminar and by mail. • The Early Childhood Development: from Research to Practice Seminar: Invitations, preps of 5 presentations, discussions, and recommendations. • Early Childhood Poster: hand made by a teacher, and printing • Media appearances : Contacting media representatives and discussing the issue with them. • Our Children Zero to Three Seminar: Invitations, preps of 5 presentations, discussions, and recommendations. Evaluation: • Evaluation meeting and planning for “what is next??

5. Presentations of both Seminars: • What is early childhood development? • Why zero to eight? • Cornerstones of the Holistic Integrated approach to ECD • Transition from KG to primary • National ECD Strategy in Lebanon • Children 0-3 in Lebanon • 0-3 regional successful models • 0-3 international successful models • 0-3 Program Quality Indicators • ECD Strategy updates in Lebanon

6. Results and impact • 500 copies of the booklet disseminated to schools and parents • ECD Arabic posters were placed in schools, MOE, MOSA • 100 participants from all sectors attended our national seminars. • Concluding remarks and recommendations from both seminars • Reactivation of the ECCD National Strategy in Lebanon • Focus on the issue of children 0-3 • More understanding about the issue of transition – Two Associations started in their schools a structured program for transition and introduced the HIA for 3-8 including lower elementary. • 3 media appearances • Newspaper coverage • 9 Presentations were posted online and available to everybody

9. Lessons Learned • Never too late to start – start where you are most confident. • ECD should always be a priority no matter what the challenges are. • Advocacy needs a lot of efforts, team work, and strong networking mechanism • The desired change will not come easy or soon. • All sectors should build bridges between each others and not work in an island oriented approach. • Need to work more on local research • Need to focus on the issue of 0-3 and transition • Advocacy work should be based on research and numbers. • The Holistic Integrated Approach is a key tool for ECD advocacy. • Always highlight the importance of ECD from zero to eight. • We still have a long way to put ECCD as a priority in the minds of policy decision makers…

10. Challenges • Political instability in the country (May 2007-September 2008: 120 days of violent events= assassinations, bombs, strikes…) • ECD still not a priority = no special governmental budget for ECD • No agreement about the zero to eight ECD period • Lack of a common language regarding ECD issues and the HI approach • Budget restraints! (number, quality, language) • No local research and data especially on disadvantaged children • Parent participation was not possible • Participation of decision makers in teacher preparation programs: conservative and negative attitude