Queen Rania Discusses ECD, Educational Prospects for Collaboration Between Jordan and Turkey

September 06, 2005

(Office of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah-Press Department) Programs offered by the Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV) were the focus of a meeting between Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah and ACEV General Manager Izin Ozygine, on Monday.
 
Attended by the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) Acting Secretary-General, Lara Hussein, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Jordan, Anne Skatvedt, as well as other representatives from the three organizations, the meeting included discussions on prospective collaborations between the Foundation and Jordan in terms of exchanging scientific expertise in the field of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and education in particular.
 
Earlier on Monday, NCFA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with UNICEF and AÇEV, at the NCFA premises.
 
The memorandum stipulates exchanging knowledge and expertise among the three signing entities in addition to building the capacity of ECD and better parenting workers targeting children of age group 3-6 years.
 
According to the MOU, education material will be developed in Arabic for ECD workers, parents and service providers. AÇEV shall provide training, consultancy and supervisory services as required by NCFA and UNICEF within the parameters of this agreement.
 
ACEV is a Turkish non-profit organization established in 1993. The organization works on improving the family's quality of life through implementing educational programs in the fields of ECD and combating illiteracy. The Mother Child Education Program supports and raises the awareness of parents with regards to the development and growth of their children. The program also aims at expanding the parents' knowledge to further contribute to the mental, cognitive and social development of their children.
 
The program is considered an unofficial source of information about education and development for pre-school children. Within its scope of work, ACEV implements a father support program to encourage fathers to assume a positive role in raising and rearing their children. Training parents on how to develop their children's mathematical and linguistic skills in preparation for them to go to school is yet another program implemented by ACEV.
 
The initiative of a Mother Child Education Program in Jordan complements and enhances the Better Parenting Program executed by 15 national partners with the support of UNICEF. The program aims at educating parents’ about better parenting practices and providing a safe environment for their children conducive to their growth and development. This goal is achieved through the proper use of media and community-based initiatives, such as holding discussion sessions with parents, and organizing training workshops for service providers, physicians and mid-wives.
 
Headed by Her Majesty, NCFA acts as an umbrella organization for all issues relevant to the child and the family. The National Plan of Action (2004-2013), which was launched by NCFA in 2004, aims at providing a safe environment that secures the children's right to survival, development, protection and participation from birth till 18 years of age.
 
Through its ECD program, UNICEF works on raising the public awareness to ensure the sound and proper upbringing of children from 0 to 8 years of age.