Page 1 Cite

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Investing in Young Children for Peaceful Societies: Proceedings of a Joint Workshop by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; UNICEF; and the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23637.

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1

Introduction¹

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

With the worst human refugee crisis since World War II as the backdrop, from March 16 through March 18, 2016, the Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally, in partnership with UNICEF and the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), held a workshop in Amman, Jordan, to explore topics related to investing in young children for peaceful societies. Over the course of the 3-day workshop, researchers, policy makers, program practitioners, funders, youth, and other experts came together to understand the effects of conflict and violence on children, women, and youth across areas of health, education, nutrition, social protection, and other domains.

In her introductory remarks, Pia Rebello Britto, Global Chief and Senior Advisor for Early Child Development at UNICEF, stated that early childhood development and peace are often two points on a pathway that are not easily connected. Rima Salah of the Early Childhood Peacebuilding

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¹ The planning committee’s role was limited to planning the workshop. The workshop summary has been prepared by the rapporteur (with the assistance of Charlee Alexander, Kimber Bogard, and Carrie Vergel de Dios) as a factual account of what occurred at the workshop. Statements, recommendations, and opinions expressed are those of individual presenters and participants and have not been endorsed or verified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. They should not be construed as reflecting any group consensus.

Page 2 Cite

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Investing in Young Children for Peaceful Societies: Proceedings of a Joint Workshop by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; UNICEF; and the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23637.

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Consortium cited scientific evidence from multiple disciplines that substantiate the link between a child’s early years and early life environment with long-term violence prevention and behaviors linked with peaceful communities.

The goal of the workshop was to continue to fill in gaps in knowledge and explore opportunities for discourse through a process of highlighting the science and practice. Lorraine Sherr of University College London outlined the specific occasion for gathering in Jordan as one to look at the nexus of early child development and peace, to look at innovative solutions, to look at where conflicts and violence and children intersect, and try to bring to the table siloed groups whom all too often do not talk to each other and do not gather together to seek mutual solutions. Sherr addressed the importance of linking early childhood with peacebuilding in the context of Jordan (see Box 1-1).

While the research and policy perspectives are critical to understanding children in conflict, the workshop planning committee deemed it equally important to create a space to lift up the voices and engage youth from the region. This is the first occasion where the Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally has engaged youth, inspired by the Crown

BOX 1-1
Introduction to the Workshop

The workshop opened with a special session under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan introducing one of the workshop’s main themes of bridging investments in young children with peaceful societies. Robert Jenkins, Jordan UNICEF Representative, remarked on the expansion of early childhood development programming throughout Jordan. He elaborated on the work of UNICEF Jordan, particularly though its innovative approaches to engaging children, youth, and service providers as agents for change to reduce violence and promote peace.

Referencing the contributions of Jordan’s government and recognizing the workshop participants in attendance, including the deputy prime minister, Jenkins spoke of many of the ministries’ key initiatives. He also acknowledged the role of the donor community, composed of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international agencies who remain committed to advancing national early childhood development initiatives. Speaking to the convening power of the Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally, Jenkins identified the fields of early childhood and peace building that were being brought together in Jordan for the workshop. He highlighted that the forum was also providing an opportunity for the perspectives of children, youth, families, and service providers to have their perspectives heard, including the unique voice of the youth.

Page 3 Cite

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Investing in Young Children for Peaceful Societies: Proceedings of a Joint Workshop by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; UNICEF; and the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23637.

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Prince of Jordan’s Youth Summit in August 2015 and Jordan’s commitment to early childhood and youth embodied in the United Nations (UN) Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security—a call to action that engaged the country’s youth. Box 1-2 provides the full statement of task and objectives for the workshop, and Box 1-3 describes the forum and its goals.

BOX 1-2
Workshop Statement of Task

An ad hoc committee will plan a 3-day, interactive public workshop that will feature invited presentations and discussions. The public workshop will bring together two communities: early childhood development and peacebuilding. Through dialogue, the workshop will promote knowledge exchange and identification of opportunities to leverage investments in early childhood development to promote peace. The sessions will highlight different phases of conflict: prevention of conflict; acute and chronic conflict; and transition out of conflict; and participants will focus on solutions in each of these three phases with an emphasis on young children. The presentations will be based on the science, programmatic evidence and policy and faith-based dialogue. While the focus will be global, selected country case studies will be used to anchor the discussions. The committee will plan and organize the workshop, select and invite speakers and discussants, and moderate the discussions.

A brief, workshop summary, in addition to a full-length workshop summary, of the presentations and discussions at the workshop will be prepared by a designated rapporteur in accordance with institutional guidelines.

Workshop Objectives

Show examples of the impact of fleeing from conflict on young children’s health, safety, education, and nutrition; include the unique impact on children with disabilities.
Highlight the science of early childhood, identifying this period of development as perhaps the earliest stage for preventing violence within a transformative shift from understanding children and women solely as vulnerable populations to agents of change.
Share examples of the applicability and relevance of starting with early childhood to reduce violence and promote peace in conflict situations while addressing the underlying causes of the conflict, taking into account the stages of conflict and the socioeconomic profiles of countries.
Explore potentially effective models that employ tools such as intercultural and interreligious dialogue and conflict resolution to leverage the period of early childhood for peacebuilding efforts in regions experiencing conflict.
Identify opportunities to contribute to the Humanitarian Summit discussion, building on the evidence and challenges of investing in early child development and peace building approaches.

Page 4 Cite

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Investing in Young Children for Peaceful Societies: Proceedings of a Joint Workshop by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; UNICEF; and the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23637.

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BOX 1-3
The Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally

The Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally (iYCG Forum)—a collaboration between the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Global Health and Board on Children, Youth, and Families—was established with the goal to integrate knowledge with action in regions around the world to inform evidence-based, strategic investments in young children. The iYCG Forum is a collaboration of experts working to ensure that investments in the world’s children are informed by integrative science and are a top priority on the policy agenda, both globally and nationally. The iYCG Forum is dedicated to ensuring that decision makers around the world use the best science and evidence for optimizing the investments in the well-being of children and their lifelong potential. The iYCG Forum’s main objectives are to explore the importance of an integrated science of healthy child development through age 8; share examples of models of program implementation at scale and financing across social protection, education, health, and nutrition; promote global dialogue on investing in young children; and catalyze opportunities for intersectorial coordination at local, national, and global levels. The iYCG Forum aims to identify and communicate best practices in the translation of science and evidence into programs and policies that improve the lives and potential of young children around the world.

Six previous workshops have focused on the cost of inaction, financing investments in young children, scaling investments in young children, looking at existing platforms to support investments in young children globally, supporting family and community investments in young children globally particularly during times of acute disruption, and exploring how to invest in children living at the margins of society. Brief summaries of the workshops are available at nationalacademies.org/iycg, and full summaries are available at http://www.nap.edu.

ORGANIZATION OF THIS PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP

This Proceedings of a Workshop details presentations delivered during the 3-day public workshop. The presentations are grouped into thematic chapters that build on defining the context in which conflict occurs, as is laid out in Chapter 2. The science of early childhood development during times of conflict is described in Chapter 3. Policies and strategies for promoting peace and citizen engagement are presented in Chapter 4. Tools, messages, and technologies for reducing violence and promoting peace among children, youth, and women are discussed in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 presents messages of hope from young people to further connect policies, dialogue, and innovations to affect the lives of those living in conflict.

Appendix A contains a list of abbreviations and acronyms. Appendix B provides the workshop agenda, and Appendix C lists biographical sketches of the workshop speakers.