CDRF Holds Symposium for Early Child Development Institutions

In response to the national drive to develop infant and child care services, and to actively promote the high-quality development of the population, the China Development Research Foundation (CDRF) invited a number of social organizations to convene a symposium on early childhood develop for children aged 0-3 years old.

Wu Wei, Secretary General of Tanato Foundation, Lu Wei, Deputy Secretary General of Hupan Modou Foundation, Liu Bin, Secretary General of Xinhe Foundation, Zhao Yingxue, Executive Director of the 1000 Day Initiative, and Hao Ruixi, Senior Project Officer of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation attended the symposium. Fang Jin, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CDRF, Cai Jianhua, Senior Advisor of Child Development Research Institute at CDRF, Du Zhixin, Deputy Director of Child Development Research Institute, and members of the China REACH team attended the symposium. The symposium focused on the implementation of early childhood parenting programs for children aged 0-3 and the challenges the institutions face.

Fang Jin pointed out that the current demographic development in China is characterized by low birth rate, ageing, and regional disparity, and in this context, conducting research on early child development is of great significance to promoting the high-quality development of the population. CDRF hopes to strengthen exchanges with social organizations with common goals, form synergies, and jointly promote the implementation and improvement of relevant national policies.

Cai Jianhua pointed out that in the field of early childhood development, social organizations should work together to adapt to the changes in China's population and explore early child development programs. He hopes early child development programs see increased intervention coverage with policy support.

Liu Bei, Senior Program Manager of the Foundation's Child Development Research Institute, highlighted the progress and achievements of China REACH. China REACH has three intervention modes: home visits, group parenting guidance, and awareness initiatives. It effectively promotes rural women's employment while promoting holistic early childhood development, and contributes to bridging the gap between urban and rural areas to promote social equity.

Wu Wei suggested that in order to strengthen early child development, social organizations should work together to incubate social providers, set up working platforms, propose policies and create an atmosphere for awareness.

Lu Wei and Zhao Yingxue shared the model of their organizations, talked about the history of their projects, and provided guidance on cooperative models for social organizations. Liu Bin said that in the field of early child development, social organizations should have more collective exchanges and be good at learning from international experience, so that interventions can really reach the majority of rural and urban low- and middle-income families and children.

At the end of the meeting, Du Zhixin pointed out that in recent years, the government's attention to urban childcare and rural early parenting has gradually increased, and that social organizations can play an important role in scientifically promoting early child development. He hoped that social organizations could actively explore and establish a regular joint mechanism to improve the quality of their projects and form intervention programs with Chinese characteristics.