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Strengthening Early Childhood Education Systems: Investing Early to Ensure Effective Learning
April 7-8, 2014Bucharest, Romania
The Seventh World Bank Europe and Central Asia Education Conference is organized jointly with the Romania Ministry of National Education, UNICEF, and Open Society Foundations.

The Seventh World Bank Europe and Central Asia Education Conference will be held at the Central University Library in Bucharest, Romania on April 7-8, 2014. The theme of the conference is "Strengthening Early Childhood Education Systems: Investing Early to Ensure Effective Learning", and it is co-organized with the Ministry of National Education of Romania, UNICEF, and the Open Society Foundations.

The main objective of the conference is to provide a learning forum for policy makers and education experts from the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region to discuss, together with international experts, UNICEF, Open Society Foundations, and World Bank specialists, the importance of early childhood education in forming the basis of future learning, especially for the most disadvantaged children.

Many countries in the region are seeking to extend education systems to include younger children in pre-primary or preschool classrooms. This conference recognizes the importance of children’s earliest experiences with formal learning in setting their academic trajectory and will explore mechanisms to support continuity for young children and their families, as children make the important transition to ‘student’.

The conference focuses on improving institutional and governance frameworks, financing mechanisms, access and inclusion to early education, teacher training, and measurement of school readiness to support all children to smoothly transition from preschool to primary education. Please see the draft agenda for more information.

Download the Agenda (PDF)

Speakers Profiles

  1. Alberto Rodriguez - (Early Education in ECA)
  2. Arthur Ivatts - Early Childhood Care and Education - Transition to School - Roma Children
  3. Jan Peeters - Access and Quality in ECCE - Innovations in the Early Years
  4. Jan Peeters - The Power of Effective Early Childhood Education in Preparing All Children for Lifelong Learning
  5. Jim Grieve - From Synapses to Schools: Measuring and Improving Population Outcomes for Young Children (English)
  6. Jim Grieve - From Synapses to Schools: Measuring and Improving Population Outomes for Young Children (Russian)
  7. Laila Fossum - Smooth Transition from Kindergarten to Primary School
  8. Liana Ghent - The Early Years Regional Alliance
  9. Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei - MOLDOVA: FOCUSING ON ACCESS, INCLUSION AND QUALITY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.
  10. Meskerem Mulatu - Assessing ECD Policies and Programs
  11. Meskerem Mulatu - Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER)Early Childhood Development
  12. Michel Vandenbroeck - Access and Includion in ECCE
  13. Mihaela Ionescu - Investing in Sustainable Professional Development in Early Childhood Services
  14. Miho Taguma - Growth Strategy:  Maintaining quality while deregulating ECEC services
  15. Tamar Atinc - Skills for Life
  16. Sonja Sheridan - Preschool Quality and Conditions for Children's Early Learning: A Swedish Perspective
  17. Tatiana Volosovets - Prerequisits for a Key Transition from Kindergarten to Primary School (English)
  18. Tatiana Volosovets - Prerequisits for a Key Transition from Kindergarten to Primary School (Russian)
  19. Teresa Aidukiene - Lithuanian Experience: Towards Accessible and Inclusive Early Childhood Education
  20. World Roma Day - Presentations Day 2 

Download the list of participants (PDF)

Event details
  • Date: 7-8 April, 2014
  • Venue: Central University Library, Bucharest, Romania
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