Executive Leadership Program in Early Childhood Development - ELP

The Programa de Liderança Executiva em Desenvolvimento da Primeira Infância ’ (‘Executive Leadership Program in Early Childhood Development’ / ‘ELP’) integrates the frontline NCPI initiatives, and provides executive training with the aim of engaging those formulating public policies, public administrators, representatives from civil society and journalists. Within this dialogue, the focus is the importance of knowledge of infant development in public policies focused on children between 0 and 6 years of age in Brazil.

The 9th edition of this program took place in 2022, taking the form of a single module at Harvard University, presenting the most important economic, social and neuroscientific evidence for the prioritization of Early Childhood.

The audience included 30 invited leaders who discussed policies and programs with municipal administrators, amongst whom were

13 city mayors, vice-mayors and secretaries from every region of the country. During the meeting, the participants developed 26 action plans. According to a study carried out with the participants at the end of this 9th edition, 100% see the ELP as a vehicle for understanding and strengthening relations with important players, and 90% felt satisfied.

Following the program, 86% considered the arguments and scientific evidence to be ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ for prioritization of the Early Childhood agenda, while 95% of the participants felt they had good skills and abilities to be able to mobilize people, institutions and initiatives focused on Early Childhood.

With a network of more than 600 participants working in different areas and every region of Brazil, as well as another ten countries, there have been nine international editions of the program and two Brazilian ones.

Training of journalists and communicators

Training of journalists and communicatorsDart Center for Journalism & Trauma

A press that is responsive and interested in the issue of Early Childhood is a driver for social transformation. The Foundation performs an important role and helps oil the gears of this communication machine by constantly providing top quality and credible information, whilst also developing different initiatives designed to provide training for professionals on the issues involved in Early Childhood.

The activities are held annually, expanding and strengthening communicators and materials that have been addressing the issue, or increasing the potential of initiatives focused on childhood. The aim is to construct a qualified network of professionals who are prepared to develop and publish materials connected to Early Childhood.

This six-month course, developed in partnership with the Columbia University School of Journalism, was offered for the fourth time in 2022, providing training for 20 journalists (including 17 Brazilians). The classes, taught by specialists from all over the world using a wide variety of interfaces relating to early childhood, focused on inequalities and Covid-19 in Brazil and Latin America.

The project was created to qualify a group of journalists with the knowledge, motivation and connections to write in-depth reports on issues relating to childhood. At the end of this year’s course, 20 reports had been produced for large Brazilian and Latin-American media vehicles, using different formats (podcasts, TV, magazines, newspapers).

Training of journalists and communicators

- 2nd ‘Early Childhood First’ CourseJournalism & Elections

In order to address the subjects that influence the coverage of Early Childhood in connection with the 2022 elections, the Foundation offered the second ‘Early Childhood First - Journalism & Elections’ Course.

In this partnership with Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo’ (‘Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism’ / ‘Abraji’), ‘Associação de Jornalismo Digital’ (‘Association of Digital Journalism’ / ‘Ajor’) and Associação dos Jornalistas de Educação (‘Association of Education Journalists’ / ‘Jeduca’), specialists and journalists share cases, practical experience and mentoring as a means of raising awareness and providing tools for other professionals in relation to the importance of pressing the candidates on their proposals to overcome the challenges currently facing the development of children aged 0 to 6 in Brazil.

Offered to journalists, communicators, students and communication professionals in the public sector from all over Brazil, the course received 870 enrollments, 252 of whom took at least one class and 80 of whom completed the entire program.

Training of journalists and communicatorsNós, Mulheres da Periferia

Taking advantage of the election period, the Foundation formed a partnership with Nós, Mulheres da Periferia’ (‘We, the Women on the Margins’) - a news website broadcast by Black and marginalized women in São Paulo - to offer a course for journalists and communicators who speak for and to the people. The training covers subjects such as comprehensive development, early childhood education, environments that are healthy and nurturing for children, poverty and the cash transfer.

Managed by ‘Nós, Mulheres da Periferia’, the course also involves three other independent vehicles [‘Alma Preta’, ‘Amazônia Real’ and ‘Marco Zero Conteúdo’] in the training of 30 freelance journalists with connections to media vehicles throughout Brazil.

These journalists and communicators receive a stipend and write reports for different media formats covering a wide range of different subjects. Furthermore, in support of the collectives and communicators on the outskirts of the cities, a Guide was produced called

“Como cobrir primeira infância e eleições” (“How to cover early childhood and elections”).