• Watch series video 1

• Description: Host, Dr. James F. Leckman, professor in the Yale Child Study Center, extends a warm welcome to conference colleagues and friends. He underscores why the need is great for each of us to become agents of change. Evidence-based science and practice show that peace is possible using early childhood development strategies. This proven pathway to peace provides children and families with the transformative power of change that can lead to a more peaceful world.

• Speaker: James F. Leckman, MD, PhD, is the Neison Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology at Yale University; ECPC founding member and Executive Committee member. For more than 20 years he served as the Director of Research for the Yale Child Study Center. Dr. Leckman is the author or co-author of over 450 original scientific articles. Visit Dr. Leckman at the Yale Child Study Center (link is external) and Empathy for Peace (link is external).

• Recommended reading:
  1. Leckman, J. F., and P. R. Britto. (2018). Steps toward peace and violence prevention across generations: The potential of early child development in the context of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.” New Dir Child Adolesc Dev, 2018: 5-12.
  2. Leckman, James F., Pia Rebello Britto, Yvette Efevbera, Dana C. McCoy, Alice J. Wuermli, and Theresa S. Betancourt. (2018). Integrating early child development and violence prevention programs: A systematic review. In New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development. Vol. 2018.
  3. Leckman, J. F., and P. R. Britto. (2018). Towards a More Peaceful World: The Promise of Early Child Development Programmes. In New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development. Vol. 2018.
  4. Leckman, J. F., C. Panter-Brick, and R. Salah. (2014). Pathways to peace: The transformative power of children and families. Vol. 15. Cambridge MA US / London UK: MIT Press.
  5. Morgan, B., D. Sunar, S. Carter, J. Leckman, D.P. Fry, E.B. Keverne, I. Kolassa, R. Kumsta, and D. Olds. (2014). Human biological development and peace: Genes, brains, safety, and justice. In Pathways to peace: The transformative power of children and families, edited by J. Leckman, C. Panter-Brick and R. Salah, 95-128. Vol. 15. MIT Press.
  6. Sunar, D., Ç. Kâğıtçıbaşı, J. F. Leckman, P. Britto, C. Panter-Brick, K. Pruett, M. Reyes, W. Hodges, A. Zonderman, Y. Yazgan et al. (2013). Is early childhood relevant to peacebuilding? J Peacebuilding Develop, 8: 81-85.

• Watch series video 2
• Description: In this presentation, Will Kneerim shares heartfelt heroic and hopeful stories from the front lines of his work with refugee children and their families who have resettled in the Connecticut from conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East.  Despite high levels of post traumatic stress (PTSD) experienced by 60-70% of the resettling refugees, the impact of their receiving early learning and academic tutoring, healthcare and life long support is both empowering and awe inspiring in building social cohesion among groups and paving a road to peace.
• Speaker:  Will Kneerim (link is external) lived and worked in Asia, Latin America, Europe, and both coasts of North America during his career in global logistics.  He pursued a transition to the non-profit sector where for the last five years he’s directed programs at IRIS- Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (link is external) in New Haven, CT.  IRIS responded to the global refugee crisis in 2015 by more than doubling its clientele from Africa and the Middle East, helping UN designated refugees from Afghanistan, Congo, Syria and elsewhere begin new lives.  Will has been a presenter, panelist and moderator at universities and conferences around the U.S., and has served in board leadership positions for philanthropic and arts organizations.

• Watch series video 3
• Description: Miss Lames Abdelrahman, 11-year old IRIS Refugee Ambassador from Sudan, shares with us her long journey, her wishes and future dreams. She has been honored to launch the ECPC Pledge to Action for Peace, with the help of her mentor, Will Kneerim, Director of Education IRIS, and friend, Dr. James F. Leckman, professor at the Yale Child Study Center. 
• Speaker:  Miss Lames Abdelrahman (link is external), IRIS Refugee Ambassador from The Sudan
• More:
  1. Take the ECPC Pledge to Action for Peace
  2. Learn more about Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS) (link is external).

• Watch series video 4
• Description: Today more than ever before millions of children and their families are trapped in situations of war, conflict, violence and displacement. Science shows that violence has a detrimental effect on the development of young children. In this presentation, Dr. Rima Salah shows that we have every opportunity to make a transformative shift, and raise the voice of science to join with the voice of “we the peoples” to stop war and violence in the world, promoting a “Culture of Peace”.  Dr. Salah gives a brief history of the Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC), from conception to official launch to present day. She underscores its pioneering vision to create an inclusive movement for peace and social justice, through using evidence informed early childhood  development strategies, founded on the idea that children and families can be agents of change for peace.
• Speaker: Rima Salah, PhD, Chair and founding member, ECPC; Assistant Clinical Professor in the Yale Child Study Center; Former Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF. Dr. Salah has served as a Member of the United Nations High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (link is external)(2014-15), and as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, U.N. Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT). In addition, Dr. Salah has had a distinguished career with UNICEF. Her service includes: Deputy Executive Director for UNICEF (2004-2007, 2011-2012), Regional Director for West and Central Africa (1999-2004), and UNICEF representative in several countries including Vietnam, Burkina Faso as well as head of office in Queta, Pakistan. Read Dr. Salah’s full biography.
• Recommended reading:
  1. Donaldson, C., F. Affolter, L. A. Ponguta, R. Salah, P. R. Britto, J. F. Leckman, P. Connolly, S. Fitzpatrick, and P. Walmsley. (2018). Contributions of early childhood development programming to sustainable peace and development. New York City: Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC).
  2. Salah, R. (2018). Global citizenship and the role of the United Nations: The promise of the Early Childhood Peace Consortium. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development 2018, no. 159: 99-105.
  3. Leckman, J., C. Panter-Brick, and R. Salah. (2014). Pathways to peace: The transformative power of children and families. Vol. 15. Cambridge MA US / London UK: MIT Press.
  4. Leckman, J., C. Panter-Brick, and R. Salah. (2014). Peace is a lifelong process: The importance of partnerships. In Pathways to Peace: The Transformative Power of Children and Families, edited by J. Leckman, C. Panter-Brick and R. Salah, 3-17. Vol. 15. MIT Press.

• Watch series video 5
• Description: It takes a child to raise a village – yes, you read that right. Join Dr. Pia Britto to learn about young children’s brain development, and how the right interventions in the early years of life build stronger individuals, stronger communities, sustainable development and peace.

Early childhood is a critical time for individual growth. This short period is unique because of the unparalleled speed at which brain architecture develops. This development is the continuous acquisition of skills and abilities across the domains of cognition, language, motor, social and emotional development—in short, what we need to think, solve problems, communicate, express our emotions, build resilience, and form relationships. A child’s development results from interactions with the environment, therefore the experiences in the first few years of life have serious, long-lasting effects. The brain is like a sponge that soaks up positive and negative experiences, which in turn influence the blueprint of its architecture.

In this video, Dr. Britto explains the outcomes of both positive and negative experiences in early childhood. She dives into the neuroscience of how a nurturing environment can effectuate healthy brain development, and what ‘nurturing’ means; how this environment can be enabled by early childhood services; and how this contributes to sustainable development and social cohesion. Conversely, Dr. Britto expounds the potentially lifelong impacts of negative experiences on social-emotional wellbeing, memory, and learning, which can later manifest as a reduced ability to earn and form positive interpersonal relationships, and exacerbated distrust. For society, this can mean higher unemployment rates, thus higher public expenditure; intergenerational poverty; and a perpetuation of inequity and ultimately, violence and conflict.

Watch this video to understand how giving every child the best start in life can make a world of difference for them, and a difference in the world for us. NOW is the time for all of us to act to build brains, and build futures.

• Keynote speaker: Pia Rebello Britto, PhD, is Global Chief and Senior Advisor for Early Childhood Development at UNICEF, New York Headquarters, and ECPC Vice Chair and founding member. She was formerly Assistant Professor at Yale University. Dr. Britto is known for her work on developing, implementing and evaluating early childhood programs and policies around the world. In particular, she has strengthened the application of evidence for programming, promoted the role of governance and finance of national systems in achieving equity, access and quality, developed and evaluated models for implementation of quality early childhood services, supported the role of parents and caregivers, including women’s economic empowerment and the association to peace building and social cohesion. Dr. Britto has been instrumental in the global movement towards establishing the transformative role of Early Childhood Development in the Sustainable Development Agenda. Dr. Britto is the recipient of several national and international grants and awards in recognition for her work and has published extensively.
• Links:
  1. UNICEF Early Childhood Development (link is external)
  2. Learning for Peace - Côte d’Ivoire, Women’s Group and ECD, Video (link is external).
• Recommended reading:
  1. L.Angelica Ponguta; C. Donaldson; F. Affolter; P. Connolly; L. Dunne; S. Miller; P. Britto; R. Salah; J. Leckman. (2018). Early childhood development programs, peacebuilding, and the Sustainable Development Goals: Opportunities for interdisciplinary research and multisectoral partnerships (link is external). In: Verma S., Petersen A. (eds) Developmental Science and Sustainable Development Goals for Children and Youth. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 74. Springer, Cham.
  2. Britto, P. R., S. J. Lye, K. Proulx, A. K. Yousafzai, S. G. Matthews, et al. (2017). Nurturing care: promoting early childhood development. Lancet 389, no. 10064 : 91-102.
  3. UNICEF. (2017). Early moments matter for every child. New York: UNICEF.
  4. UNICEF. (2015). Starting early to build stronger and more peaceful societies (Eng). New York: UNICEF.
  5. UNICEF. (2014). Building better brains, UNICEF brief (link is external).  New York : UNICEF.
  6. Britto, Pia R., Rima Salah, Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Jacqueline Bhabha, Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Gary R. Gunderson, Cigdem Kagitcibasi, Lucy Nusseibeh, Olayinka Omigbodun, Mikiko Otani et al. (2014). Creating effective programs and policies to reduce violence and promote peace. In Pathways to peace: The transformative power of children and families, edited by James F. Leckman, Catherine Panter-Brick and Rima Salah, 361-384. The MIT Press.

• 6a. NIHR Research Study Overview

  • Watch series video 6, Part I 
  • Description: Presenting Part I “Overview: Supporting the Development of ECD Programs for Peacebuilding: Experience from the NIHR Global Health Research Group on ECD for Peacebuilding” by Professors Paul Connolly and Sarah Miller, Queen’s University Belfast. This research study at Queen’s University Belfast, funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) of the United Kingdom, supports an international research group on early childhood development for peacebuilding (See Queen’s University Belfast - LINKS (link is external)). 
  • Speakers:
    • Paul Connolly, PhD, is Professor of Education and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at Queen’s University Belfast, and Member ECPC Executive Committee. He is Director of the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Early Childhood Development for Peacebuilding. He is Founding Director of the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation at Queen’s and has particular expertise in the evaluation of educational programs. He is a sociologist and has been researching issues of diversity and inclusion in early childhood for over 25 years.
    • Sarah Miller, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Education at Queen’s University Belfast, and ECPC Expert Consultant. She is a member of the Core Delivery Team of the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Early Childhood Development for Peacebuilding and is responsible for leading the Group’s work in Mali and Vietnam.  Sarah is also the Deputy Director of the Campbell UK & Ireland centre. She is a Developmental Psychologist with expertise in program evaluation and evidence synthesis.

• Watch series video 6, Part II
• Description: Presenting Part II “Panel Discussion: Supporting the Development of ECD Programs for Peacebuilding: Experience from the NIHR Global Health Research Group on ECD for Peacebuilding” (Queen’s University Belfast, LINKS (link is external)). This panel discussion, moderated by Professor Laura Dunne, brings together research team members from Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste and Vietnam to explore the challenges faced by country teams in developing programmes aimed to identify opportunities for early childhood development (ECD) and peace building in each country. The insights offered by those “on the ground” provide important learning opportunities for those of us working to enhance ECD services and advance peace building in conflict affected areas across the globe.
• Moderator:  Laura Dunne, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Education at Queen’s University Belfast, and ECPC Expert Consultant. She is a member of the Core Delivery Team of the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Early Childhood Development for Peacebuilding and is responsible for leading the Group’s work in Egypt Timor-Leste. Laura is a Developmental Psychologist with particular expertise in program design and evaluation.
• Delegation panelists: (To learn more, click on the name of each panelist below.)

  • Inas Hegazi, PhD, is the ECD Manager at UNICEF Egypt Country Office (link is external). She is recognized for her expertise in policy development, advocacy and sector wide reforms for promoting the rights of children as established under the CRC and other international frameworks. 

  • Chinara Dzhumagulova, PhD, is ECD Officer at UNICEF Kyrgyzstan Country Office (link is external). She has 29 years of experience in the areas of education and youth program development, teacher training and management, advocacy, and monitoring and evaluation. 

  • Isaaka Sagara, MD (link is external), Head Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Data Management Unit, Malaria Research and Training CNT, University Bamako-USTTB, Mali

  • Jamshed Kurbonov, MSSW, is Education Officer at UNICEF Tajikistan Country Office (link is external). He is responsible for ensuring overall efficiency and effectiveness of the early childhood education programme management, delivery and accomplishment through effective planning, monitoring and evaluation, and partnership initiatives, including strengthening the capacity of education authorities and stakeholders to implement programmes that facilitate provision of accessible, inclusive and quality ECE services. 

  • Joao da Costa, MBA, is Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, UNICEF Timor-Leste Country Office (link is external). His areas of professional skills include Programme Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Capacity building on Results Based Management (RBM), Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming, and more. 

  • Phan Thi Thu Hien, MD, Dean ECD Department, Ho Chi Minh City Univ of Education, Vietnam (link is external)

• Watch series video 7
• Description: Dr. Linda Mayes makes a conference cameo appearance to underscore the mission of the Yale Child Study Center (link is external) to which she is Chair, and to show support for the ECPC.
• Speaker:  Linda Mayes, MD (link is external) is the Arnold Gesell Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology and Director of the Yale Child Study Center.  She is also Special Advisor to the Dean in the Yale School of Medicine.  Trained as a pediatrician, Dr. Mayes’s research focuses on stress-response and regulatory mechanisms in young children at both biological and psychosocial risk. She has especially focused on the impact of prenatal substance use on children’s long-term outcome. She has made contributions to understanding the mechanisms of effect of prenatal stimulant exposure on the ontogeny of arousal regulatory systems and the relation between dysfunctional emotional regulation and impaired prefrontal cortical function in young children.  She has published widely in the developmental psychology, pediatrics, and child psychiatry literature. 

Given the nature of her work with children at significantly high-risk for developmental impairments from both biological and psychosocial etiologies, Dr. Mayes also focuses on the impact of parenting on the development of arousal and attention regulatory mechanisms in their children and specifically on how substance abuse impacts reward and stress regulatory systems in new parents. With other colleagues in the Center, she studies how adults transition to parenthood especially when substance abuse is involved and the basic neural circuitry of early parent-infant attachment using both neuroimaging and electroencephalographic techniques. She and her colleagues have developed a series of interventions for parents including an intensive home-based program called Minding the Baby.

Her research programs are multidisciplinary not only in their blending basic science with clinical interventions but also in the disciplines required including adult and child psychiatry, behavioral neuroscience, obstetrics, pediatrics, and neuropsychology. She is also a Distinguished Visiting Professor in psychology at Sewanee: The University of the South where she is working on intervention programs to enhance child and family resilience.

• Watch series video 8
• Description: Sherrie R Westin, President of Global Impact and Philanthropy at Sesame Workshop, brings us inside the creation of Ahlan Simsim, the $100 million partnership between Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee that delivers vital early learning and nurturing care to families affected by the Syrian conflict. Sherrie discusses how this groundbreaking program — the largest early childhood intervention in the history of humanitarian response — fosters the values of mutual respect and inclusion, putting children and their communities on the path to a more hopeful and peaceful future.
• Keynote: Sherrie Rollins Westin is President of Global Impact & Philanthropy for Sesame Work, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street. She leads the Workshop’s efforts to serve vulnerable children. Westin was named a “Leading Global Thinker” by Foreign Policy Magazine and one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business”. She is a member of the ECPC Advisory Board.
• Recommended reading:
  1. MacArthur Foundation blog, Perspectives on 100&Change | From idea to implementation: Launching our program for refugee children (link is external)
  2. Press Release | Sesame Workshop & International Rescue Committee award $100 million for early childhood education of Syrian refugees (link is external)
• Links:
  1. Sesame Workshop, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon – Refugee Response  (link is external)
  2. Medium Site (link is external)
     1. Introducing…Ahlan Simsim!
     2. 5 key takeaways from Sesame and IRC’s refugee program planning workshops
     3. For young refugees, no education means no future. So Elmo is going overseas to help.
  3. Blog | Our First Year of 100&Change: Successes, Challenges, and Learnings from Ahlan Simsim (link is external)
  4. Twitter Sesame Workshop (link is external)
  5. Twitter Sherrie Westin (link is external)
• More videos of interest
  1. Sesame Street and the IRC team up for refugee children (link is external)
  2. Delivering hope and opportunity to refugee children (link is external)
  3. Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee (link is external), 100&Change: The finalists live presentation (link is external)

• Watch series video 9
• Description: Forced migration is an increasing global challenge: children and families are obliged to leave their homes for many reasons. Many of these children are under the age of five. In countries of origin, transit and in host countries they encounter traumatic circumstances with a daily violation of their rights. They represent one of the most pressing humanitarian challenges of our time, but their needs are neglected.
   
  In this presentation, Dr. Maria Pia Belloni Mignatti calls attention to scientific evidence that highlights the importance of early interventions for young children living under adverse conditions and a new commitment is growing, at international level, to support early childhood development (ECD) for migrant and refugee children. Now it is time to turn these commitments into reality, working together in a coordinated manner, paving a road to hope for millions of young children and their families living in crisis and in conflicts.
• Speaker. Positions held by Dr. Mignatti include: Chair, NGO Committee on Migration (link is external); UN Representative, World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) (link is external); Member of the Steering Committee “Initiative for Child Rights in the Global Compacts”, Geneva, Switzerland; and Member of the Advisory Board of the Early Childhood Development Peace Consortium (ECPC). Dr. Mignatti has published books and articles on different aspects of the European Union integration, mainly about migration policy.
• Recommended reading and links: 

1. Forced Migration Review. (2019). Education needs, rights and access in displacement
2. United Nations. (2018). Global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (link is external). New York: United Nations.
3. Moving Minds Alliance. (2018). ECD and early learning for children in crisis and conflict (link is external)
4. IOM UN Migration. (2018). Migration and the 2030 Agenda. A guide for practitioners (link is external).
5. United Nations. (2016). New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (A/RES/71/1) (link is external). New York
6. United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development (A/Res/70/1) (link is external). New York: United Nations. 
7. UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The global compact on refugees (link is external). 
8. International Rescue Committee and Sesame Street (link is external)
9. UNICEF, Learning for Peace Program  (link is external)
10. ACEV Program (Mother and Child Education Program) (link is external)
11. iACT-Little Ripples (link is external)
12. UNHCR  implemented ECD programs in refugees camps in Rwanda  (link is external)
13. Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN (link is external)), organized the program Me and My Child in Crisis
14. Moving Minds Alliance (link is external)

• Watch series video 10
• Description: This presentation exemplifies a biocultural framework for measuring stress and resilience amongst populations living under challenging circumstances.  It also builds the evidence regarding efforts to evaluate program effectiveness - ‘putting interventions to the test’ - with examples drawn from humanitarian work with Syrian refugees in Jordan.  It concludes on the importance of partnerships.
• Speaker: Catherine Panter-Brick, PhD (link is external) is Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs at Yale University, and ECPC Expert Consultant. As a medical anthropologist, she directs the Program on Conflict, Resilience, and Health and the Program on Stress and Family Resilience, working on issues of risk and resilience to develop effective partnerships across academia, policy, and practice.
• Links:
  1. Yale MacMillan Center, Conflict, Resilience, and Health Program (link is external)
  2. Program on Stress and Family Resilience (link is external)

• Watch Series Video 11
• Description: This session features key publications sponsored by the ECPC, as well as published research that has been mobilized/inspired by the ECPC agenda. Panelists discuss the scope of a few selected publications and the way in which agencies may translate the outcomes of the research into practice. The discussion will include the conceptualization and evolution of the theory of change for the ECPC and will feature mechanisms for its framing and dissemination.  
• Session Chair. Angelica Ponguta, PhD, MPH  is an Associate Research Scientist in the Yale Child Study Center, and ECPC Expert Consultant. Angelica Ponguta is Associate Research Scientist at the Yale Child Study Center. Her research focuses on the development and analysis of Early Childhood Development policies and has worked alongside UNICEF and governments in East and West Africa, South East Asia, Eastern and Central Europe and Latin America. Her work also focuses on impact and process evaluations of early childhood and parenting programs, as well as the development of measures to assess the quality of services for young children at scale. 
• Session panelists:
• Chelsea Donaldson, MS is Data and Research Manager at Empatico, and ECPC Expert Consultant. Chelsea Donaldson, MSc is the Data and Research Manager at Empatico (link is external), a free education tool aiming to build meaningful relationships among children around the world through virtual connections. Donaldson also works with UNICEF and the Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC) to produce research and advocacy materials that link early childhood development programs, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding. Before this, she was a Fulbright scholar in the Netherlands conducting research on autism spectrum disorders.
• Suna Hanoz-Penny, MA is Director of International Programs at ACEV - Mother Child Education Foundation, Turkey, and Member, ECPC Executive Committee. Suna Hanöz-Penney works as the Director of International Programs at ACEV— Mother Child Education Foundation (link is external) in Istanbul. Turkey. Her work involves building collaborative partnerships, while she manages the transfer and implementation of ACEV’s educational programs to local organizations in numerous countries including Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Lao PDR, and Brazil. She designs and supervises the early intervention programs for children and families implemented at both the national and international fields. Suna is a Fulbright Scholar, received her dual M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and holds a B.A. in Early Childhood Education and Psychological Guidance & Counseling from Boğazici University, Istanbul. She is presently pursuing a Mid-Career Master in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School.  
• Friedrich Affolter, EdD, is an Education Expert for Risk-Informed Programming at UNICEF (link is external) NY Programme Division. He also serves as Secretary of the Early Childhood Peace Consortium [ECPC]. Until June 2016, Friedrich Affolter served as the manager of UNICEF’s Peacebuilding, Education and Advocacy Programme (PBEA), which designed education programmes that contribute to the mitigation of drivers of conflict in 14 fragile and post-conflict countries. Earlier UN assignments include Sudan, South Africa, Angola and Afghanistan. 
• ECPC publications:
  1. Donaldson, C., F. Affolter, L. A. Ponguta, R. Salah, P. R. Britto, J. F. Leckman, P. Connolly, S. Fitzpatrick, and P. Walmsley. (2018). Contributions of Early Childhood Development Programming to Sustainable Peace and Development. New York City: Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC).
  2. Donaldson, Chelsea. (2017). Contributions of Early Childhood Development Services to Preventing Violent Conflict and Sustaining Peace [Eng, Ara, Fre, Spa, Tur], Edited by Liliana Angelica Ponguta, Friedrich Affolter and Pia Rebello Britto. Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC).
  3. L.Angelica Ponguta; C. Donaldson; F. Affolter; P. Connolly; L. Dunne; S. Miller; P. Britto; R. Salah; J. Leckman. (2018). Early childhood development programs, peacebuilding, and the Sustainable Development Goals: Opportunities for interdisciplinary research and multisectoral partnerships (link is external). In: Verma S., Petersen A. (eds) Developmental Science and Sustainable Development Goals for Children and Youth. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 74. Springer, Cham.
  4. Leckman, J. F., C. Panter-Brick, and R. Salah. Pathways to Peace: The Transformative Power of Children and Families. Vol. 15. Cambridge MA US / London UK: MIT Press, 2014.
  5. Yale University and ACEV Partnership. (2012). Ecology of peace: Formative childhoods and peace building. A brief note. New Haven, CT and Istanbul, Turkey: Yale-ACEV Partnership.

• Watch series video 12
• Description: This talk, “Some Thoughts from the “Front Lines” of Early Childhood from a 50 year “Veteran” in the Field” shares what those who dedicate their lives to nurturing young children in all kinds of early childhood settings have learned about helping them to become moral beings and empathic, thinking, feeling and caring citizens of the world. Spending time with young children every day, our job is to teach children to live in groups, to begin to take another’s point of view, to be in touch with their feelings (and those of others) to be curious about and have reverence for the people and environment around them, and to take responsibility for their actions and their words. Supporting this social-emotional and intellectual development is crucial if we are to have hope for the next generations on our planet.
• Speaker: Carla Horwitz, EdD (link is external) is Lecturer at the Yale Child Study Center and Education Studies Program and Department of Psychology; Director Emerita of Calvin Hill Day Care Center and Kitty Lustman-Findling Kindergarten. She is a member of the Yale Education Studies faculty, as well as a member of the faculties of the Yale Child Study Center and Psychology Department. Carla was the Director of Yale University’s Calvin Hill Day Care Center for forty years. She retired in 2016 and is currently Director Emerita. Carla has established several funded post-graduate teaching fellowships in child development and early childhood education. She continues to engage in advocacy on behalf of children, families and early childhood education at the local, state and national level and to consult to child care and early education programs as well as to other education-related settings. Her research interests include the creation and implementation of progressive, culturally sensitive curriculum, play and its role in developmentally appropriate early care and education, supervision, mentoring and the professional development of teachers, and educational leadership.

• Watch series video 13
• Description: Franz Joseph Hartl, JD, takes us a history ride with stops at thresholds in time when humanity embarks upon breakthroughs in mass communication. From the printing press to the birth of the Information Age, Franz affirms we are on the precipice of change. He invites us to leverage the power of the web to harness the energies of love, and to build sustainable peace using early childhood development strategies. See Franz officially launch the Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC) online platform.
• Speaker: Franz Joseph Hartl, JD is University Webmaster for Yale, where he and his team of software engineers and content strategists build, support, and maintain over 1000 distinct Yale properties, including Yale.edu. He serves as an Executive Committee member of the Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC).

• Watch series video 14
• Description: Known to many as the Father of The Culture of Peace, H.E. Ambassador K. Chowdhury speaks to the urgency of the times and issues a call for global transformative action. He asserts that investing in the early years of life is crucial if we are to build sustainable peace by fostering generations of reconciliation.
• Keynote: H.E. Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury has devoted many years as an inspirational champion for sustainable peace and development and ardently advancing the cause of the global movement for the culture of peace that has energized civil society all over the world. Ambassador Chowdhury has a wealth of experience in the critical issues of our time - peace, sustainable development, and human rights. He is founder of the Global Movement for The Culture of Peace, and founding member of the ECPC to which he serves as member of its Executive Committee. As a career diplomat and Permanent Representative to United Nations, he has served as President of the UN Security Council, President of UNICEF Board, UN Under-Secretary-General, the Senior Special Advisor to the UN General Assembly President. He is a recipient of the U Thant Peace Award, UNESCO Gandhi Gold Medal for Culture of Peace, and Spirit of the UN Award and University of Massachusetts Boston Chancellor’s Medal for Global Leadership for Peace. 
• Recommended reading:  Learn more about the Global Movement for The Culture of Peace, its historical achievements as results of the United Nations resolutions, and access to official documents and related materials.