Asia-Pacific Regional Policy Forum on Early Childhood Care and Education The Transformative Power of Early Childhood: Innovations for Inclusivity and Quality July 19-21, 2016 Putrajaya, Malaysia FINAL REPORT 2 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 4 1. BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 5 2. OPENING AND SETTING THE STAGE ......................................................................... 7 2.1 WELCOME ADDRESSES ..................................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 OPENING SPEECH ................................................................................................................................................ 8 2.3 KEYNOTE ADDRESSES ....................................................................................................................................... 8 3. MINISTERIAL ROUNDTABLE ................................................................................... 10 4. MINI FORUM I ....................................................................................................... 12 5. THEMATIC PRESENTATIONS .................................................................................. 15 6. MODERATED PANEL DISCUSSIONS......................................................................... 18 7. MINI FORUM II ...................................................................................................... 22 8. THE PUTRAJAYA DECLARATION ............................................................................. 26 9. CLOSING ............................................................................................................... 27 9.1 CLOSING REMARKS ........................................................................................................................................... 27 9.2 CLOSING SPEECH ............................................................................................................................................... 28 ANNEXES .................................................................................................................. 30 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Asia-Pacific Regional Policy Forum on Early Childhood Care and Education 2016, with the theme, “The Transformative Power of Early Childhood: Innovations for Inclusivity and Quality,” took place on 19 to 21 July 2016 in Putrajaya, Malaysia. It aimed to review the countries’ progress in developing and implementing ECCE policies, showcase innovations in ECCE, and identify the Asia and Pacific region’s priorities and strategies to achieve SDG Target 4.2: “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.” More than 600 high-level Asia-Pacific government officials participated in the event. Representatives of UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, bilateral cooperation agencies, inter-governmental organizations and major donors engaged in ECCE attended as observers. Discussions throughout the forum were anchored on four sub-themes, as follows: (1) Innovations in Policy, Planning, Service Delivery, Monitoring and Evaluation to Reach the Most Marginalized Children (2) Innovations in Financing and Partnerships to Increase Investment in ECCE and Improve the Efficient Use of Resources (3) Innovations in Coordination Mechanisms to Promote Holistic Development and Enhanced Learning Outcomes (4) Innovations in Pedagogical Approaches and Human Resource Development to Improve the Quality of ECCE in Various Settings The numerous messages delivered throughout the forum called for the implementation of strategic, systemic (as opposed to being focused only on programs or services) and sustainable action plans; enhancement of both inclusivity and quality of ECCE; collaborative efforts and coordination mechanisms at the community, country and regional levels; increased public spending accompanied by mechanisms for effective and efficient use of resources; and development of reliable and contextually appropriate measurement tools. Key representatives from across the region presented innovative and noteworthy initiatives along these aforementioned areas of ECCE planning and implementation. The highest-profile sessions of the forum were the Ministerial Rountable Discussions. These meetings provided an opportunity for participating Ministers and Vice-Ministers to: (1) discuss their respective challenges in providing holistic quality ECCE especially to the most marginalized children, and how they overcame some of these challenges; and (2) comment on the draft Putrajaya Declaration containing the consolidated inputs of participating countries for the Asia-Pacific region's priority strategies and actions in relation to the sub- themes. The refined Putrajaya Declaration was presented to the plenary on the last day of the Forum and was endorsed by the participants. 4 1. BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, world leaders adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including, SDG 4 “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” and Target 4.2 “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.” This target reflects the recognition that early childhood care and education (ECCE) lays the foundation for children’s long-term development and wellbeing. The Framework for Action for the Education 2030 (SDG 4) agenda calls for the provision of quality holistic early childhood development, care and education for all children and at least one year of free and compulsory quality pre-primary education, to be delivered by well- trained educators. UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education in collaboration with UNICEF and other partners has been organizing policy fora on education and lifelong learning as a platform for policy advocacy and sharing of good practices. As one of such policy fora, UNESCO, UNICEF and ARNEC, together with the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education (KICCE) and the Korea Development Institute (KDI), organized the first Asia-Pacific Regional Policy Forum on ECCE in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in 2013. Under the theme “Are children ready to learn? Are schools ready for children?”, the policy forum provided a platform for high-level policy-makers of Asia-Pacific countries to share knowledge and discuss strategies to expand access to and improve the quality of comprehensive ECCE. This first policy forum bolstered Asia and Pacific countries’ commitment to young children, underscoring the importance of an inter-sectoral holistic approach. The key message resonating from the forum was that care and education investments in the early years of a child’s life have exponentially greater returns for the child and society at large when compared to investing in the later years of the life cycle. Building on the momentum created by the first policy forum as well as by other international fora on ECCE, the 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Policy Forum on Early Childhood Care and Education 2016, with the theme, “The Transformative Power of Early Childhood: Innovations for Inclusivity and Quality,” took place on 19 to 21 July 2016 in Putrajaya, Malaysia. It provided a platform for high-level policy-makers of Asia and Pacific countries to share experiences and lessons learnt in developing and implementing ECCE policies and discuss innovative strategies to improve the equity and quality of ECCE within the region. The policy forum, hosted by the Government of Malaysia, aimed to: 1. Review the countries’ progress in developing and implementing ECCE policies, including updates on their priority actions identified during the first Regional Policy Forum on ECCE (Seoul, 2013). 2. Showcase innovations in ECCE in terms of policies and service delivery, financing, coordination mechanisms, and pedagogical approaches and human resource development. 5 3. Identify the Asia and Pacific region’s priorities and strategies to achieve SDG Target 4.2 “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education”. It was expected to meet the following outcomes: Policy-makers informed about the latest research evidence and innovative and promising approaches to improving equity and quality of ECCE. A regional declaration which encompasses strategies, including a regional monitoring mechanism, to achieve SDG Target 4.2 “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.” More than 600 high-level governmental representatives of Asia and Pacific countries participated in the event. Representatives of UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, bilateral cooperation agencies, inter-governmental organizations and major donors engaged in ECCE attended as observers. 6 2. OPENING AND SETTING THE STAGE 2.1 WELCOME ADDRESSES Tan Sri Dr. Madinah Binti Mohamad, Secretary General, Ministry Of Education, Malaysia Sec. Gen. Tan Sri Madinah underscored how multi-sectorial collaboration is important for quality