Humaidan meets with the Director of the International Bureau for Education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at UNESCO to discuss prospects for joint cooperation

22-02-2020

His Excellency the Minister of Labour and Social Development, Chairman of the National Childhood Committee, Mr Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, met with the Director of UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (IBE), Her Excellency Dr Mmantsetsa Marope, on the sidelines of the Second International Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education in Victoria, Seychelles, held from 21 to 23 February. The conference reviewed the achievements made by the Kingdom of Bahrain in the fields of development, protection and care, which have placed it among the advanced countries in the field of children’s rights, as internationally recognised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child during the review of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s periodic report in Geneva. During the meeting, cooperation with all international expertise that promotes sustainable development in the Kingdom of Bahrain was welcomed, including joint cooperation in the areas of developing and building a database for early childhood. In this context, the Director of the International Bureau of Education expressed her desire to enhance cooperation with Bahrain and open new horizons for exchanging expertise and successful experiences in this vital field, as part of her work tasks during the coming period, in order to achieve the goals related to early childhood within the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. Dr Marope commended the Kingdom's international standing and its distinguished and pioneering experience among the countries of the region in the field of human rights and the preservation and protection of human rights in accordance with advanced systems and legislation. She expressed her aspiration to enhance cooperation and coordination in various humanitarian fields related to children within the framework of the goals of the United Nations and UNESCO. It is worth noting that the conference is organised by the Institute of Early Childhood Development of the Republic of Seychelles and UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (IBE), with the participation of more than 250 specialists from a number of UN member states, in addition to a number of experts in the field of childcare and specialised organisations. The current session of the conference addresses international initiatives in early childhood care and education, in addition to reviewing the experiences and practices in this field from the participating countries. The conference emphasises the importance of managing electronic databases to enhance policies and programmes in the field of early childhood development. The speakers will focus on the challenges and difficulties facing countries around the world in the field of child development, as well as the policies proposed to address them at the levels of legislation, financing, and health and social protection frameworks. The meeting was attended by Assistant Undersecretary for Community Development, Mr Khalid Abdul Rahman Ishaq Al Kooheji, representing the Ministry of Labour and Social Development; Assistant Undersecretary for Special and Continuing Education, Mr Jaafar Ali Al‑Sheikh, representing the Ministry of Education; and Assistant Undersecretary for Hospital Affairs, Dr Mohammed Amin Al‑Awadhi, representing the Ministry of Health.