Introduction

The launch of Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC) (an affiliation of global partners from multiple sectors, institutions and organizations engaged in peacebuilding in early childhood development) brought together over 140 partners from multiple sectors (including civil society, the social and mass media, government officials, multi and bilateral agencies, as well as practitioners and academia), agencies and countries to “create a legacy of sustained peace drawing on the transformative power of early child development.” 

To achieve real peace, we must teach our children peace. Early environments are as much a part of our endowment as our genes.

— Pia Rebello Britto, PhD., Sr. Advisor ECD Unit, UNICEF 

The ECPC established an unprecedented network and unified stakeholders around the goal of reducing and preventing violence against children, recognizing the transformative power of the early years, and incorporating the broader social context in the promotion and generation of evidence-based early childhood programming for social cohesion, justice, and peace.

The ECPC is at the vanguard of creating transformative solutions to one of the greatest issues plaguing the world community – that of increased violence and conflict. 

Video Slideshow | Early Childhood Peace Consortium: Launch at UNICEF (3:07)