In recognition of the critical importance of protecting the rights of young children (children from birth to eight years of age) to develop their full cognitive, emotional, social and physical potential, early childhood development (ECD) has found expression in international declarations and frameworks adopted for the development of countries in Africa.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Cairo Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Education for All (EFA) goals and the Declaration and Framework for Action of the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children (UNGASS), all have provision for inclusion of early childhood development as a priority area for human resource development in support of national development processes. The New Partnership for Africa' s Development (NEPAD) has also called for the revision of its agenda to include a focus on early childhood development.

Unfortunately, following the adoption of these important international declarations and frameworks, early childhood development has still not received the support needed, in concrete terms, in most national development plans and processes in Africa. Many children in Africa continue to die before their 5th birthday, many children still repeat and drop out of the educational system because they are not ready/prepared for the school system and children in difficult circumstances are not receiving the needed care and support.

It is in light of the above, that the 3rd in a series of African International Early Childhood Development Conferences will be held in Accra, Ghana from May 30 - June 3, 2005, with the theme "Moving Early Childhood Development Forward in Africa".
The 3rd conference follows the first which was held in 1999 in Kampala, Uganda and a second in 2002 in Asmara, Eritrea.
The focus of the 3rd African International ECD Conference will be on three important priority action areas that are necessary to move the ECD agenda forward in Africa -

The conference will include three-days of technical workshops based on the 3 action areas indicated above and a one and a half day Ministerial meeting under the leadership of the chair of ECOWAS, H.E. President John Agyekum Kuffuor.
The outcome of the conference is expected to draw increased political commitment to early childhood development in Africa, facilitate accelerated action at country levels and also feed into other development processes including PRSPs, EFA, SWAPs and NEPAD plans. The conference is being organized by the Working Group on Early Childhood.

Development of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA-WGECD), representing a partnership between international organizations including UNICEF, the World Bank, UNESCO, WHO, the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU), the Consultative Group on Early Childhood Development (CGECD) and national governments.

Updated information regarding selection of country delegates and other details will be announced by September 20, 2005.

Contact:
Stella Etse
ADEA-WGECD Secretariat
c/o UNICEF Reg. Office for West and Central Africa
P. O. Box 29720
Dakar-Yoff, Senegal
Tel.: +221 869 58 58
Fax: +221 820 30 65
E-mail:setse@unicef.org