Importance of Early Childhood Development stressed as Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas joins forces with UNICEF for post-2015 agendaby Sema Hosta Istanbul, TURKEY - 24 January 2013 - Academic experts,
civil society representatives and practitioners from Turkey and neighbouring
countries have invited World leaders to put Early Child Development at the centre of sustainable and
equitable global development.
The appeal
is contained in the Istanbul Declaration,
which was approved at a meeting in Istanbul on the theme of “Early Childhood
Development: The Future We Want for All Children”. The meeting,
which took place on January 24th and 25th, forms part of the United Nations-led
global consultation process on what is known as the Post-2015 Agenda – that is,
the new international development priorities and goals to be set following the
Millennium Development Goals deadline in 2015. Mayor of
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Dr. Kadir Topbas, who is a member of the UN Post-2015 Development
Agenda High-Level Panel, which advises the UN Secretary-General, was one of the
speakers at the event. Dr. Topbas promised to present the Istanbul Declaration at
the forthcoming meeting of the High-Level Panel in Liberia. The mayor added
that he also took it as his duty to promote Early Childhood Development efforts in Turkey. “Life-long impact” Integrated
early childhood development services and programmes are widely seen as critical
to human development. It is during the early years of life that the brain
develops most rapidly, so that children can acquire the habits and skills
needed for social and educational success and self-protection. Inadequate care
and stimulation in the early years of life is at the root of much human
failure, inequality and poverty. Speaking at the
same event, UNICEF Turkey Representative Dr. Ayman Abulaban called for
creative ideas and strategies to place the child’s development more prominently
on the Post-2015 Development Agenda because of its strong link with sustainable
human development. “The evidence collected so far shows that early childhood
experiences have a life-long impact, which can be positive and/or negative,” he
underlined. Post-2015 Agenda The member
states of the United Nations initiated the Post-2015 Development Agenda process
at the Millennium Development Summit in September 2010. As part of this process,
a wide range of stakeholders including non-governmental organisations,
universities, the private sector and public institutions have been discussing what
global development will look like after the Millennium Development Goals. In
short, they are seeking an answer to the question: “What future do you want?” The Millennium
Development Goals have succeeded in reducing poverty and child mortality,
improving children’s nutrition and expanding the provision of basic education.
However, these achievements need to be consolidated, both in Turkey and in the
World. Moreover, further effort is needed to create an inclusive social and
economic development model to eliminate inequalities. Poverty, for example,
continues to affect the physical, mental, social and emotional development of
many children. National consultation
meetings on the Post-2015 Development Agenda have been taking place in more
than 50 countries including Turkey. The national consultation reports are to be
presented to the UN Secretary General by March 2013. The Istanbul Declaration The Istanbul Declaration sets out the measures which need to be taken urgently in the area of Early Childhood Development as part of the Post-2015 Agenda, and invites all world leaders to cooperate. The full text of the Declaration is available via www.unicef.org.tr and www.ibb.gov.tr as of January 28th.
|
