2007 Activities

OSI has maintained a strong commitment to early childhood care and education because scientific research has repeatedly shown that early childhood interventions can help at-risk children overcome the effects of social disadvantage. The aims of the Early Childhood Program reflect OSI’s mission to promote social justice by supporting activities that expand access to quality early childhood development, with special attention to minorities, children with disabilities, and children living in poverty.

The Early Childhood Program helped Roma and other minority communities achieve a major education antidiscrimination success by cooperating with the Open Society Justice Initiative’s efforts at the European Court of Human Rights to hold governments accountable for unjust placement of Roma children in inappropriate “special schools.” The Early Childhood Program was instrumental in consolidating information about culturally appropriate educational testing and early tracking for presentation to the court.

The Early Childhood Program’s Step by Step initiative continued to build its institutional strength in 2007. Step by Step, started in 1994 in Central and Eastern Europe, introduced a child-centered approach and community engagement into the rigid, teacher-centered education systems of the communist era. Step by Step has grown to include working to develop national early childhood NGOs and institutions, formally evaluating pilot projects, and supporting advocacy to reform early childhood policies. The initiative is implemented through the Open Society Foundation in London, the International Step by Step Association, and Step by Step NGOs located in 29 countries. Step by Step continues to diversify its funding base, with OSI providing less than 20 percent of the funding for national NGOs implementing the program. The bulk of Step by Step funding currently comes from national and local governments, the European Union, the World Bank, UNICEF, USAID, and the sale of educational services and publications.

The Early Childhood Program in 2007 extended its technical expertise to the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, promoting long-term systemic change that involves children, their families, and a wide group of education, health, and social service providers. The program intends to use single country initiatives to also formulate regional strategies.

Projects launched in 2007 included the establishment of postgraduate programs in child development at the Institute of Educational Development at BRAC University in Bangladesh, and technical support for analysis and the development of policies for young children by the Ministry of Education in Liberia.