Climate Change and Young Children: Building Understanding and Action as a World Forum Community
On June 19, 2024, the emerging World Forum Working Group on Young Children and Climate Change explored unique steps we can take as a World Forum community to understand and communicate the ways young children are at the center of the climate crisis and ways we can support young children at the center of […]
Finding Joy in Our Work
On June 5th we shared the stories of how and where we find our joy, the underpinning of the hopefulness shared by early childhood professionals around the world. Members of the Early Childhood Wisdom Initiative facilitated this conversation and told stories. The work of caring is challenging; the joys are great! Receive future notifications about […]
Illuminating and Protecting Children’s Rights: Listening to Children with Care and Love
On May 22, 2024, the World Forum Working Group on Children’s Rights reflected on the relationship between love, care and children’s rights as expressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, with a particular focus on how we as adults can tune into the many ways children express how they experience […]
Disrupting Systems – Have you managed to do it?
Systemic racism and inequality are devastatingly still alive in ECD spaces – academia, funding, leadership opportunities, etc. Discussions by the Race, Racism, Equity and Diversity (RRED) Working Group of the World Forum have recently centred around how to disrupt the existing unequal power structures in ECD. Many of us are not aware of how to […]
Celebrate International Women’s Day: Courage for Our Times
“Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” —Anonymous WoFo Global Café had a conversation on March 8th, 2024 celebrating what women can, must, have done and will do to change the world. https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/921252309 Person/s leading discussion: Patsy Pillay To receive future notifications about WoFo Global Café […]
Artificial Intelligence and Early Childhood Education
On March 13th, 2024, we met in the café for an overview of AI applied to ECE, and an exploration of different hands-on applications! This unique session was dedicated to exploring the innovative realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Early Childhood Education. How will AI transform our educational practices? To receive future notifications about WoFo […]
Tuning in to Children: What Do We Learn When We Really Listen?
How do we remember feeling as children when adults really listened to us—or didn’t? Now we’re the adults, so how do apply our own childhood experiences as we work with children? How do we create safe spaces for authentic sharing and listening? Do we listen to the many voices children use to express their ideas? […]
Climate Change, Young Children and the World Forum Community
On February 14th, 2024, we explored ways the World Forum Community can continue to build awareness and action on climate change and young children, including our work before, during and after the 2024 World Forum in Vancouver. Sheldon Schaeffer of the Asia-Pacific Regional Network on Early Childhood and Kirsten Haugen of the World Forum Foundation […]
Children and the COP28 Climate Summit
On January 31st, 2024, we had an engaging conversation about the impact of climate change on children. Joe Waters, co-founder of the global think tank, Capita, recently attended the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai. He shared his insights on the activity and the outcomes of the Summit, particularly on actions taken regarding the impact of […]
Men in ECE: “A Man for All Reasons”
Even in the midst of a global ECE staffing crisis, very few programs are recognizing that half the population is being unrecognized as a potential solution. At this WoFo Global Café, we discussed opportunities to address strategies to identify, recruit and retain quality male early childhood providers. We also explored what people have learned about […]