Seychelles is set to host its first Regional Workshop on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) for countries in the Southern and Eastern Africa regions from the 5th to the 7th of June, 2024. The workshop, organized by IECD-UNESCO Category 2 Institute, will bring together professionals in their respective countries to discuss progress made and challenges encountered in ECCE, and formulate a roadmap for the successful implementation of their ECCE system, consistent with the UNESCO Tashkent Declaration on ECCE.

The Tashkent Declaration was adopted during the second World Conference on ECCE in November 2022, in Uzbekistan in November 2022, where participants from 147 Member States reaffirmed the ‘right of every young child to quality ECCE’ and the commitment that ‘education starts early’. The declaration outlines guiding principles and strategies for the rapid transformation of ECCE to accelerate achievements of SDG Target 4.2, with concrete actions for Member States, the international community, non-governmental organizations, and UNESCO.