World Forum

May 15-18, 2007
Shangri-La Hotel
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Conflict, Poverty, AIDS, Academic Pressures Impact Young Children.
Some of the many topics discussed at the 7th World Forum recently held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hopeful futures for all children was the focus of the 7th World Forum on Early Care and Education in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 750 early childhood professionals from 73 nations gathered for brainstorming and planning. This conference was organized by the Redmond–based World Forum Foundation.

A burgeoning global economy has created pockets of unprecedented wealth, yet nearly half of the world’s 500 million children under the age of six, live in abject poverty or unrelenting terror. Even in industrialized countries, childhoods are being threatened as children are lured away from nature and play by tantalizing media and fast food addictions and by pressures placed on younger and younger children to hit the academic fast track.

Recognizing the threats facing all the world’s children, the 750 delegates discussed critical issues….

HIV/AIDS
World Forum Action Tank on HIV/AIDS brought together leaders of 16 grassroots programs from around the world serving young children impacted by HIV/AIDS. Leaders shared their strategies and developed plans for a world-wide network.

POVERTY
Toni Metola, Executive Director of Gawad Kalinga Community Foundation in the Philippines, an organization which is on target to provide 1 million homes for homeless families by 2010, told delegates "the problem of poverty is huge but not without end. Since it is man-made, it can also be man-Unmade. In a world where there are enough resources for all but not enough sharing for all, our motto is 'less for self, more for others, enough for all.'"

VIOLENCE
International Working Group on Peace Building with Children launched its groundbreaking book, From Conflict to Peace Building: The Power of Early Childhood Education. This book shares strategies early childhood programs in areas experiencing armed conflict such as Palestine, Colombia, Northern Ireland, Nepal, and Rwanda, can utilize to bring divided communities back together.

NATURE DEPRIVATION
Nature Action Collaborative for Children brought together environmentalists, landscape architects, and early childhood professionals to develop strategies for reconnecting the children of the world with nature bringing back into their lives, joy, curiosity, exuberance and physical fitness.

ORPHANS
Early childhood professionals serving children orphaned by tsunamis, war, AIDS, and poverty from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe gathered together and developed a plan for providing sound early childhood services to these children.

EDUCATION
Nicholas Burnett from UNESCO’s Education For All project which aims to make education accessible to all children of the world by 2010, shared the great strides that have been made, particularly in Africa, but disclosed the goal of universal education is threatened by the failure of industrialized countries to live up to their commitments of financial support.

ADVOCACY
Emerging leaders from 26 countries, participating in the World Forum Global Leaders for Young Children project, convened for five days of mentoring and training to propel their careers as advocates for improved childhoods for all the world’s children.

The mission of the World Forum Foundation is to promote an on-going global exchange of ideas on the delivery of quality services for young children in diverse settings. This mission is accomplished through convening gatherings of early childhood professionals around the world and by promoting the continuing exchange of ideas among participants. Previous World Forum gatherings have taken place in Singapore; Athens, Greece, Belfast, Northern Ireland; Auckland, New Zealand; Honolulu, Hawaii; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Acapulco, Mexico; Manizales, Colombia; Nebraska City, Nebraska; and Montreal, Canada. Ongoing projects focus on the topics above.

Working Forum on Nature Education
Children in today's world are being adversely affected by their diminishing connection with the natural world. This year 280 delegates from a wide range of professions from six continents will gather at Arbor Day Farm, Nebraska City, Nebraska USA, to share ideas on how we can reconnect children around the world with nature. Click here for details

The Nature Action Collaborative for Children (NACC) are busy preparing for this years Working Forum on Nature If you would like to know more about NACC Click here

We are now eagerly waiting for the announcement of the location of the next World Forum to be held in 2009.

For more information, contact:
Rodney Kenner
World Forum National Representative — Australia
Pademelon Press
PO Box 6500, Baulkham Hills BC, NSW 2153
Phone: 02 9634 4655
Fax: 02 9680 4634
E-mail: rodneyk@pademelonpress.com.au
Website: www.pademelonpress.com.au

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