Caring for children, Sharing for Partners” is one of SEAMEO CECCEP’s efforts in contributing to early childhood education. Through the 2nd Annual Early Childhood Education and Parenting Regional Forum (25/8) which was held at GH Universal Hotel, Bandung. This activity was attended by 100 participants, and 5 researchers.
The Director of SEAMEO CECCEP, Prof Vina Adriany, Ph.D greeted all the participants at the beginning of the opening ceremony. “For information, this regional forum focuses on the SDGs by paying attention to the issue of quality, inclusive and equitable early childhood education and promoting learning opportunities for everyone, especially in ECE. This regional forum also aims to produce a policy brief as a form of activity output”. said Prof. Vina.
Dr. Xayapheth Chaphichith from SEAMEO Secretariat presented welcome remarks and Komalasari, M.Pd. as Acting Director, Directorate General of ECE delivered the opening rmark. This regional forum is divided into 3 sessions. The speakers delivered their presentations In the first and second sessions, and conducted discussions as well.
The first session stated that the pandemic had an impact on students and school life. Mr. Harris Iskandar & Ms. Nurhafizah bt Brahim shared the many strategies carried out by the governments of Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam to overcome the impact of the pandemic, especially to children. Adjustments have been made, ranging from regulations to support teachers and education personnel, to creating an accessible learning environment.
Prof. Mathias Urban, Ph.D (Chairman of Early Childhood Education, and Director of the Center for Early Childhood Research (ECRC) Dublin City, Ireland states that Early childhood, as a field, has been subject to its own inherent tension between knowledge imposed as regulation (standard judgment, managerialism, technical accountability) and the promise of a transformative space for the co-creation of emancipatory knowledge and practice.
In the second session Dr. Yulida, stated that PAUD is not a neutral space, always associated with social, economic, and political values. Dr. Bimbika also makes a key point based on PROSPERA’s research, which highlights that it is our duty to provide a better educational environment, especially in Indonesia. The key findings show us that many issues are related to the social, economic and equity sectors.
Prof. Mathias Urban, agreed that ECCE does not only talk about child development, but also the relationship between children and parents and providing an adequate environment to support the educational process. There needs to be a comprehensive integration between parties to support every issue related to ECCE, such as nutrition, health, and social equality to uphold the welfare of children and families. Prof. Lynn Ang showed a video, stating that coordination and communication between actors is very important to support the ECCE process. It is very important to use the same language to get the best solution for all.
In the third session, the Deputy Director for Programme led the discussion on the theme and date of the next regional forum. The forum will formulate a policy brief on Universal Child Care provided for the Ministry of Education in Southeast Asia countries.
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