Conference Themes
Main Theme
Investing in Early Childhood Development – Building Human Capital
1: Economics & Sustainable Mechanisms - Innovative Approaches to ECD Finances
- • Global economic evidence on high returns to ECD with reference to Asia’s demographic transition and human capital dividend - Case Study from Pakistan
- • Investment scenarios linking ECD to national productivity, public financing frameworks from OECD and LMICs, and blended finance and innovative PPP models (Country examples: Chile Crece Contigo, Singapore, Rwanda, Vietnam)
- • Venture philanthropy and catalytic capital, corporate social responsibility models and faith-based giving
- • Family foundations and diaspora philanthropy
- • Linking climate justice with child development, green ECD centers and climate-adaptive infrastructure, carbon finance mechanisms for caregiving programs
2: Nurturing Care Across Cultures & Innovations
- • Parenting models and family-strengthening systems – Key Family Care Practices(KFCPs) & Scaling-up Parenting Programme in Pakistan
- • Responsive Caregiving
- • RDI/Rupani Foundation’s AWIP model as a regional example
- • Digital parenting platforms and remote learning tools
- • EdTech innovations from Singapore, Malaysia
3: Health, Nutrition, Safety & Security
- • Integrating developmental milestones, early detection & early intervention into Pakistan’s primary health care services
- • AI-based early detection and developmental screening
- • Stunting prevention through adequate nutrition – it starts in the womb
- • Healthy dietary practices & food security
4: Strengthening the ECD Workforce & Regional Cooperation
- • Academic pathways through Centers of Excellence (e.g., AIOU)
- • Credentialing, scholarships, and digital upskilling
- • Workforce mobility across the region
- • Capacity-building initiatives and cross-country learning
- • Regional cooperation for quality assurance in ECD
5: Research, Measurement & Accountability Systems
- • Understanding the role of WHO Global Scale for Early Development (GSED) in ECD Measurement
- • Strengthening indicators, data systems, and tracking
- • Global measurement frameworks (MECCE, SABER-ECD)
- • Academic collaboration and regional research networks
6: Caregivers’ Mental Health & MHPSS Integration
- • Caring for the caregivers, global best practices
- • WHO maternal mental health frameworks
- • Integrating mental health into primary healthcare
- • Holistic mind–body–spirit models (e.g., Ibn Sina Foundation)
7: Early Learning Opportunities
- • Strengthen Home and Community Based Learning Environments by equipping parents and caregivers with structural guidance to provide early stimulation, language exposure, and nurturing interactions during conception to 3 years of age.
- • Design Play-Based Early Learning Spaces that are safe, inclusive, and stimulating that promote exploration, creativity, social-emotional growth, and foundational literacy and numeracy in pre-primary schools.
- • Ensure strong transition and foundational skills in the early primary years; align curriculum, teaching practices, and assessment to build reading fluency, numeracy competence, executive function, and problem-solving skills.
- • Train educators, engage families, build climate-resilient, child-friendly infrastructure, and ensure continuous monitoring to ensure equitable and scalable early learning access from conception to age 8.