2006 Activities

The goal of the Network Children and Youth Programs is to bring innovative approaches to existing educational structures that affect the development of children and adolescents. The priority programs are the Early Childhood Program (formerly Step by Step), the Network Debate Program, and Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking, which all emphasize democratic principles and promote the development of the individual child’s full potential. The Debate Program also works outside of existing educational structures to promote the active participation of youth in civil society.

Early Childhood Program (formerly Step by Step)

Established in 1994 with the launch of its flagship initiative, Step by Step, OSI’s Early Childhood Program engages in reform of national early childhood education and development policies within a framework of social justice. The program seeks to play a significant role in improving chances for Roma and other minorities, children with disabilities and children living in poverty to participate actively and equally in democratic societies, through targeted interventions for young children from birth through age ten and their families.

The program’s main areas of activity include analyzing early childhood policies, piloting innovative early childhood programs, and developing leadership and capacity in the early childhood field. The program also engages in targeted evaluation and research projects to support its advocacy efforts.

OSI’s Early Childhood Program office, based in London, cooperates with multiple partner organizations, including the International Step by Step Association (ISSA), and nongovernmental organizations located across 32 countries, as well as local governments, national ministries, teacher-training institutions, and international organizations including the European Union, USAID, World Bank, and UNICEF.

The following briefs describe some of the program’s activities and accomplishments in 2006.

Eleven-Year-Old Confirms the Importance of Access to Education

“I’d like to be a doctor,” declared 11-year-old Natalia, who has cerebral palsy, as she told a conference of education experts that no child should ever be denied an education. The 120 experts from 35 countries gathered in Bratislava at the International Step by Step Association’s seventh international conference promoting quality education for all children, particularly those who have disabilities or come from marginalized communities. Natalia, who is conversant in four languages—Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, and English—entered a Step by Step class in a regular school after spending years in a segregated school for disabled children that offered basic education and no chance for going to college.

Growing Effort to Change Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Minorities

The Education for Social Justice project worked initially in 14 countries to increase equal opportunities and treatment for Roma schoolchildren by focusing on the biases of teachers and using training and workshops to change attitudes. In Kosovo, Step by Step used the project to work on negative attitudes among educators toward ethnic minorities. Step by Step also provided a general introduction of the Education for Social Justice approach to its network, extending across 30 countries.

Network Debate Program

The Network Debate Program encourages youth to become active citizens engaged in public life, and to increase their abilities to critically consider issues and evidence before speaking and acting. The program operates globally in over 40 countries. Over the last few years, the program has started operating in Argentina, China, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Lesotho, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The program is dedicated to supporting independent debate programs often organized by local, OSI-supported debate NGOs that develop new and innovative ways to get youth aged 13 through 30 involved with current events and civil society. The program also funds a series of international events that bring together youth from around the world. Its largest event is an annual Youth Forum for hundreds of secondary school teachers and debaters.

The following briefs describe some of the program’s activities and achievements in 2006.

Environment and Children’s Rights Debated in Romania

The program’s annual Youth Forum brought students from throughout Central and Eastern Europe to Romania to debate and broaden their understanding of environmental issues and children’s rights. The students, many of whom will become community leaders and policymakers in their home countries, debated the privatizing of natural resources and measures to ensure government compliance with the international Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Young Journalists Communicate Across Borders and Cultures

A new project taught young aspiring journalists from Kosovo to Israel how to communicate with each other and report on important stories, using affordable and readily available technology such as open-source software, cellphone cameras, and inexpensive digital audio recorders. Students in Kosovo filed reports on the status talks shaping Kosovo’s future; teenagers in Bahrain described conditions facing guest workers; and Palestinians living in Israel reported on the lives of women in their community. Student photos and stories were presented in newspapers and on the radio in Israel, Bulgaria, and Macedonia.