At the end of 2020, the Open Society Foundations will be winding down the Early Childhood Program. Between 1994 and 2020, the program launched ambitious initiatives and advocacy, aimed at reshaping practices and institutions and scaling up civil society to advance the rights of young children.
Inspired by research linking early development to the nurturing of open societies, George Soros steered the Open Society Foundations to make a “big bet” $100 million, 20-year investment in the flagship Step by Step Program. Step by Step transformed early education systems across 30 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and in Argentina, Haiti, and Mongolia. As a result, the Open Society Foundations became one of the first converts to the field of early childhood and our investments over the past 25 years have helped to shape it.
The Early Childhood Program’s work evolved into two distinct streams: the first focused on improving equity and social inclusion for populations challenging discrimination and prejudice. The second aimed at building the civil society structures and capacity of the emerging early childhood field to do this. Open Society led the establishment of a new civil society sector in Europe and Eurasia, and inspired establishment of similar regional networks in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East—and globally.
The Open Society Early Childhood Program’s final publication, Early Childhood and Open Society: Creating Equitable and Inclusive Societies, will be discussed during the event.
Speakers
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Patrick Gaspard
Speaker
Until December 2020, Patrick Gaspard was president of the Open Society Foundations.
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Tina Hyder
Speaker
Until January 2021, Tina Hyder was deputy director of the Open Society Early Childhood Program.
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Sarah Klaus
Speaker
Until December 2021, Sarah Klaus was a senior program advisor at the Open Society Foundations.
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Peter Laugharn
Speaker
Peter Laugharn is president and chief executive officer of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
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Joan Lombardi
Speaker
Joan Lombardi is a senior scholar at the Center for Child and Human Development at Georgetown University.
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Phyllis R. Magrab
Speaker
Phyllis R. Magrab is chair of the Early Childhood Program Advisory Board.
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Lynette Okengo
Speaker
Lynette Okengo is executive director of the Africa Early Childhood Network.
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Kavita Nandini Ramdas
Moderator
Until September 2021, Kavita N. Ramdas was director of the Open Society Women’s Rights Program.
Read more
publication
Early Childhood and Open Society
Beginning in the 1990s, the Open Society Foundations Early Childhood Program worked to advance the rights of young children by investing in early childhood development while building civil society and regional networks
explainer
Why Investing in Early Childhood Matters
The early childhood years offer an unparalleled opportunity to alleviate the effects of social disadvantage and to break cycles of poverty and inequality.
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