Early Childhood Care and Development |18 November 2019
The Seychelles delegation at the Unesco general conference: (l to r) Ms Hoareau, Minister Simeon, Ambassador Radegonde and Mrs Choppy
Seychelles gets global leader status
- President Faure congratulates IECD team and partners
Seychelles has acceded to a global recognition as a leader in the field of Early Childhood Care and Development, the Office of the President announced over the weekend.
The status of Seychelles’ Institute of Early Childhood Development (IECD) as a Unesco Global Category II Institute for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) was unanimously approved on November 15, 2019 at the 40th session of the Unesco general conference.
The geographical scope of the Unesco Category II Institute means that Seychelles has acceded to a global recognition as a leader in this field. This is over and above the recognition of the IECD as the IBE-Unesco Best Practice Hub for ECCD, and represents a much higher and institutionally, more sustainable recognition.
As a Global Category II Centre, the Institute is to provide global intellectual and operational leadership, as well as capacity building for Unesco member States to advance the development of ECCD.
In executing its mandate, the Institute will among others, lead global intellectual dialogue on the importance of ECCD, provide operational guidance on how to give effect to its intellectual insights, lead global policy dialogue on ECCD, as well as promote the strengthening of ECCD systems across Unesco member States.
Meanwhile, President Danny Faure has expressed his congratulations and appreciation to the IECD team, its partners and the Unesco governing bodies for believing in Seychelles.
A communiqué from the IECD notes that with 2030 around the corner, and with current assessments showing that the world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) and its targets, Seychelles’s Unesco Category II Institute for ECCE must advocate for, and support the realisation of SDG 4.2.
“For this particular recognition, it is important to recognise the collective wisdom of the Unesco governing bodies: the executive board that positively recommended to the general conference to accept Seychelles candidature, the ultimate governing body of Unesco, the general conference, for having conferred this humbling honour on the Republic of Seychelles,” says the IECD communique.
In her statement following the endorsement by the Unesco general conference and to the Education Commission, the Minister for Education and Human Resource Development, Jeanne Simeon, said that “good quality early childhood care and education provisions is an indispensable foundation to learning throughout life, as it leads to better educational achievements, responsible citizenship, lifelong health and economic and human development. Therefore, investment in early childhood care and education is investment in the future of a nation”.
She further added that the elevation of the IECD as a Global Category II Centre, “will give the Institute the platform to reach out and extend its regional and international connections for mutual learning and support, as well as enhance its status at national level”.
In her conclusion on behalf of President Danny Faure who spearheaded this initiative, Minister Simeon said that the government is committed to keeping ECCE high on its development agenda.
She extended the government’s appreciation and gratitude to Unesco’s executive board and general conference for their consideration and final endorsement, the member States for their support.
She said the government counts on their continued collaboration, which will ensure the successful implementation of the Category II Centre.
The accreditation of such prestigious recognition is also testimony of the selfless and hard work of the chief executive and the team at the IECD who have done much of the technical and operational work required to put Seychelles on a world map. This was done in collaboration with and the invaluable contributions of the ECCE sectors, the Unesco regional office and the strong support of the permanent delegate to the Unesco and the Seychelles embassy in France.
Last but not least, the government wishes to acknowledge and thank Dr Mmantsetsa Marope, the director of International Bureau of Education, for convincing Seychelles of the value of having Seychelles lead the world on ECCE, given its remarkable achievements, by establishing a Unesco Category II Institute. Her unflinching and operational support and that of her team at the Unesco International Bureau of Education is an undeniable determinant of Seychelles’ national progress in ECCE and its accession to a future global Centre of Excellence in ECCE.
Minister Simeon was accompanied at the 40th Session of the Unesco general conference by Seychelles’ ambassador in France Sylvestre Radegonde, chief executive of IECD Shirley Choppy and secretary general of the Seychelles National Commission for Unesco Marie-Reine Hoareau.
Communique from the Office of the President / IECD