Global Action Starts with Children’s Voices
🌍 "How Over 1,000 Preschoolers Would Improve Education Globally — Insights from Voices of Children Pedagogy™ Centres Around the World"
Early childhood education lays the foundation for life
A strong body of evidence shows that expanding access to quality education—especially in the early years—can break the cycle of poverty, reduce inequalities, empower girls, and help children thrive socially, emotionally, and cognitively.
A 2023 global study revealed that public education spending accounted for 50% of worldwide economic growth since 1980 and 40% of extreme poverty reduction. According to the World Bank, every $1 invested in pre-primary education can return up to $14 in benefits.
The Global Access Gap—Early education is not yet a guaranteed right
Despite the benefits, millions of children are still being left behind.
Nearly 50% of children worldwide are not enrolled in any form of pre-primary education.
While the Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees compulsory primary education, it does not explicitly recognise early childhood or pre-primary education as a right — leaving a critical gap at the most foundational stage of learning.
Momentum for Global Action
The time for change is now.
In 2022, UNESCO launched the Global Partnership Strategy for Early Childhood, calling on countries to strengthen international and national legal frameworks to guarantee children's rights to early childhood care and education. In 2024, UNICEF and UNESCO jointly released the first Global Report on Early Childhood Care and Education, emphasizing the need to update global agreements to explicitly include early learning rights.
💬 “What would you do for the 175 million children missing out on preschool education?''
💬 ''What would you tell a friend who has never been to preschool? What should they know? ”
A Historic First: Children Leading Change
Children's Voices hold the wisdom and vision our world needs, now more than ever
For the first time, children’s voices will help guide a worldwide effort to reimagine education for lasting, sustainable change.
From 1–4 September, during the UN Children's Rights Meeting in Geneva, the voices of children from Voices of Children Pedagogy™ Centres around the world will be heard.
True Progress starts when we see children not just as future citizens, but as leaders in the now.
Their voices carry the vision of a world yet to come — and the courage to build it.
Join the Voices of Children Pedagogy™ Special Interest Group
Be part of a global community shaping the future of early childhood education.
Connect with educators, researchers, and change-makers from around the world who are committed to co-creating an evolving pedagogy that places children’s voices, rights, and creativity at its heart.
Avenue Louis- Casaï 18, 1209 Genève, Switzerland