II World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education (WCECCE) opens today at Congress Hall in the capital of Uzbekistan. The global forum was organized by the UNESCO and the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Over 1 500 delegates from 150 countries are participating in the events of the conference which is being held for the first time since 2010.

Within the framework of introductory session Rules and Procedures have been introduced, Bureau and Editorial Board of the Conference were established. Minister of Preschool Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan was elected as chair of the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education.

“We are very proud to host this conference together with UNESCO. This is a great moment for all of us, because last time such event took place twelve years ago. It is amazing that so many of likeminded people from all over the world gathered here today to develop a common approach towards early childhood care and education”, said Mrs. Agrippina Shin, Minister of Preschool Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan in her welcoming speech.

The Forum is a logical continuation of the recent UN Transforming Education Summit which called for prioritizing foundational learning. Earlier this year UNESCO stated that 1 out of 4 children aged 5 have never had any form of pre-primary education while globally, only half of all countries guarantee free pre-primary education.

“We are all united by the idea of urgency of transforming education and making it a core of global agenda. These days we will discuss equality of access to education and development, introduction of innovations to pedagogics and teachers support. All these issues that are based on fundamental values of UNESCO in the field of human rights. We would like to call all the participants to work on strong and meaningful Tashkent Declaration, reflecting early childhood care and education as the most important part of our common future”, said Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, opening the work of the WCECCE.

The conference establishes Editorial Board and resolves on its composition and mandate upon recommendation of the Secretariat of the Conference. Mandate of the Editorial Board will consist of discussing and elaborating Final document of the conference to be further presented at plenary session for discussion and approval.

Tashkent Declaration defining international agenda in the field of preschool education by 2030 will be approved as the final document by the outcome of the conference. The final document will be prepared during consultation process at the side events of the conference, translated into six official languages of UN and submitted to all the UNESCO member states.